Maximum Ride: The Twilight Zone
by blessedbyacurse
Summary: Max Ride/Twilight crossover: One of the flock gets injured, Max must go against her judgment and trust the Cullens to help them. It turns out to be a learning experiance for everyone involved... Find out what happens when 2 of the best book series collide
1. descriptionsummarydisclaimer

Maximum Ride: The Twilight Zone

Maximum Ride: The Twilight Zone

**Description:** A Max Ride/Twilight crossover- this story has NOTHING to do with The Twilight Zone in anyway, that is just the title because it's catchy. Sorry to disappoint anyone.

I know there are a bunch of stories similar to this one, but I just wanted to write my own; so deal with it. R&R please! Plot ideas, encouragement, and constructive criticism are encouraged.

**Summary:** Max and her flock are flying over Forks, Washington, and get attacked by a new breed of flyboys. When one of the flock gets injured Max must go against her better judgment and trust the mysterious Cullen family to help them. They become fast friends as both families realize that they must help each other in order solve a problem that will affect both of their families.

**Disclaimer: **I own neither the Twilight series nor the Maximum Ride series. I am not Stephenie Meyer or James Patterson and never will be. I just hope that I do justice to both authors' characters.

The point of view will change and hopefully I'll remember to put the name of whose POV it's written in. If I don't, let me know. Also, there will be mild swearing, just as a warning so be on the lookout for that.

Setting: between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, and between Max Ride 4 and Max Ride 5


	2. Fang MIA

Chapter 1- Fang MIA

Yay! This is my first fanfic, so be gentle. Lol

For those of you wondering: MIA stands for 'missing in action

Its army lingo for a soldier that goes missing during a fight.

So, without further ado- I present chapter 1 of Maximum Ride: The Twilight Zone!

Enjoy!

_

* * *

__-Max-_

I smiled slightly and closed my eyes, enjoying the wind through my wings. It was times like this that made being a mutant avian-human almost worth it. Of course,  
the feeling couldn't last long.

"Flyboys at six o'clock!" Iggy shouted. "It sounds like at least fifteen of them." He added after a moment.

Back to reality. "Ok, you guys know what to do! Let's show these flyboys who their messing with!" I shouted over the wind as I turned around. I quickly judged the situation: Fifteen flyboys, against six kids, and two dogs. Not even close to a fair fight. In fact, I almost felt sorry for these flyboys.

The flyboys met us head on and the battle began as I kicked one in the neck and it spun backwards. Somehow, it didn't drop into the forest below- in fact it came back at me. Itex must have made some improvements. Not a problem, I thought as a kicked him again. This time the flyboy dropped like a rock and crashed into the trees. Ouch.

But I had no time to dwell on his pain because another flyboy took his place. He was down in less than a minute though. I took a quick look around. Iggy and the Gasman were blowing several flyboys into bits with their homemade bombs, Angel was happily controlling a flyboy's mind and was using it to attack its own kind; a little too happy about it if you ask me. She gasped and I saw her concentration slip, but just as quickly she was back to normal. Figuratively speaking, of course. Nudge was discussing the latest fashions to an attacking flyboy while she kicked its butt, and Fang was battling one while carrying Akila in the makeshift harness thing, and winning by the looks of it. I concentrated on the unlucky flyboy in front of me. It was droning something about surrendering… blah blah blah. I sighed as he fell to the ground. They never learn.

_Bang! _I looked up at the sound, almost like a gunshot… "Fang? You alright?"

"Fine," He grunted. He was holding his side, and his expression seemed pained. I frowned, and almost went over to check on him when a flyboy came out of nowhere and punched me, hard.

"Bad idea." I told him, right before a spinning kick to his chest broke several of his bones. I watched silently as he fell into the trees, breaking several branches, and more body parts from the sound of it.

The fight between us and the flyboys continued on for a few minutes. Soon though, the flock and I were once again the only things in the sky.

"Report!" I yelled out to my flock, checking myself over for injuries. No broken bones that I could tell, which was good.

"I'm fine, just tired." Nudge informed me.

"I'm okay." Angel said.

"I'm good." Gazzy said.

"I'm blind!" Iggy shouted in mock surprise. I rolled my eyes but said nothing.

"I'm hungry and could go for some coffee" Total, our dog, chimed in from Angel's backpack.

I paused, waiting. But there was nothing. "Fang, are you okay?" I asked. Still nothing. "Fang, report!" I shouted looking around for him. Now I was panicking, as the image of Fang holding his side after what had sounded like a gunshot came back to me. I couldn't lose Fang. I _wouldn't _lose him.

"Oh crap."

* * *

Ok, Ok, I know there wasn't any Twilight in this chapter. I couldn't resist starting out with a fight scene. But I promise that Edward and the Cullens _will_ be in the next chapter! It is mostly written and should be out soon.

Thanks for reading, R&R please!


	3. Unexpected Arrival

Chapter 2- Unexpected Arrival

Read the first page for full summery and description.

Disclaimer: I don't Twilight or Maximum Ride. I am not Stephanie Meyer or James Patterson and never will be, unfortunately.

Also, this chapter sort of overlaps the first one; it starts during the fight between the flock and the flyboys. Then it changes POV and starts over at the same spot. Ok, just read, you'll figure it out...

_

* * *

__-Fang-_

_Bang!_

A gunshot rang out; it was close and I gasped as a bullet pierced my skin. I looked down: one of the flyboys that had fallen towards the forest below had pulled a pistol out on the way down and shot me. I grimaced as I saw a small stain of blood start to appear on my shirt. I sucked in my breath sharply to keep myself from saying anything I would regret. Not too serious and no major arteries hit, but it still hurt like hell.

"Fang? You alright?"

Max. I tried not to let my pain show on my face as I told her I was fine. There was no point in her being worried and possibly freaking out about me. We needed to stay concentrated in order to beat these flyboys. I kicked the one in front of me in the face and he fell into the trees, saying the message "Give up now. You cannot win. We will defeat you." Yeah, right.

Then I looked at my wound again and saw that the blood was spreading fast.

I started to feel light headed, not from the sight of blood; God knows if that made me dizzy I would have been a goner a long time ago. No, I figured blood loss was setting in considering the size of the stain on my shirt.

"Crap" I mumbled as I started to lose altitude and my sight started to get fuzzy. I managed to set myself down in a clearing in the trees. I was rapidly losing consciousness, and I looked up at the small bursts of light from Iggy and the Gasman's bombs. It was pretty looking in a crazy, blurry kind of way…

That was when everything went black. My last thought was "They won't find me because I'll blend in once I stop moving… I'm screwed."

* * *

_-Edward-_

_Bang!_

Definitely a gunshot, I thought as I ran through the forest. I decided to check it out and turned toward the sound. Soon, I could 'hear' six minds. Except… One of them seemed to be two minds.

How could that be? I stopped and concentrated on the 'voice' of a young girl. Suddenly, she was aware of me and I could see my mind reflected in hers as she realized I was there.

It was an extremely odd feeling, hearing yourself listening to someone else's thoughts in their thoughts. Just as soon as I felt it though, it was gone. Could it be that this girl was another mind reader like me? It seemed completely unlikely, she was not a vampire; I would have sensed it before now if she was.

I started running again, towards a clearing in the trees so I could get a glimpse of these strange creatures. Their minds were out of focus, almost fuzzy to me. It was like hearing someone talk while underwater. I quickly reached the small clearing and looked up. What I saw took my breath away, not something that I was accustomed to anymore.

There were five people _flying_ about two hundred feet above me. Not only did they have wings, but they looked to be fighting with a group of flying machines. I could detect no 'voices' coming from the machines, so they were either not human or I couldn't hear them for some reason. I frowned because I was picking up another mind amid this strange scene. More specifically, below the battle; in the clearing with me.

I whirled around: nothing. But I was definitely hearing someone; he was apparently unconscious which was why I had not noticed him before. I saw no one.

"Report!" A girl shouted above me. My gaze shot upwards as I listened to six responses. I heard six voices speak, but could find only five voices with my mind. What was going on here?

The girl, named Max, apparently the leader of this group was mentally panicking. "Fang, where's Fang? I just saw him. He was just- Oh crap. Crap! The gunshot, he was wincing afterward! No, no, no!" she was practically screaming in her mind, but outwardly she was calm. Obviously, she had very good self control.

The 'flock' as they referred to themselves, rather appropriate I mused, fanned out and began searching when they realized one of them was missing. I also searched, suspecting that the mysterious mind in the clearing belonged to this Fang. I tripped over something as I was looking.

A body. A boy, younger than me (physically speaking of course) was laying on the ground. He groaned but made no other sounds. Had he been there all along? No, I surely would have noticed. I bent down over him and saw a blood stain on his shirt and a pool of blood forming underneath him. Gunshot wound. I stopped breathing to keep the scent from overpowering me. I had just hunted an hour ago, but still. I thought fast, realizing that Carlisle would be needed. Just as I was deliberating about telling the strange flying humans, one of them landed not ten feet away.

The leader, Max. And judging by her mind, she was very, very angry.

I rose and turned around to face her slowly. In my voice reserved for not scaring humans I said slowly "Hello, Max."

He eyes narrowed. "Look pretty boy, I'm not in the mood, so either go back to Itex and get out of my way or I'll make you." She seemed serious, and her mind was focused on the boy behind me who was still unconscious. "Fang," I heard in her mind.

That was when she punched me in the face.

Being a vampire, I wasn't used to humans, or whatever she was, attacking me. And I especially wasn't used to staggering backward afterwards. Which I did, due to the force that Max hit me with. My mind was reeling, as I tried to figure out just what these creatures were.

I flexed my jaw. "That was unexpected." I said.

* * *

:D What do you think? I need some reviews people! Come on, just click the button, you know you want to. _Click it. Click it now. _

Also, it will be awhile until chapter 3, cause it's not written and I seem to have hit a small writer's block... I have a basic idea but it just won't go together. :( Plot ideas would be encouraged; if I like one, I might use it sometime in some story somewhere.


	4. The Doctor is In

Chapter 3: The Doctor is In

Update time! First of all I want to thank everyone who reviewed my story! Thanks for the encouragement. Also, my writer's block seems to have disappeared! Yay! Also, sorry for any spelling errors if that annoys you. Oh, one more thing: TequilaSunriseSunset, I'm waiting by my virtual mail box for your virtual cookie… (of the chocolate chip variety)

And without further ado, I present chapter 3!

* * *

--Max--

"That was unexpected." Was the only response I got after punching him? Very hard. I'd put almost all my remaining strength into that and all I got was _one step_ backward? That should have been enough force to at the very least break his jaw. Cleary, Itex had made some major improvements.

Of course, these thoughts weren't uppermost in my mind as I felt several bones in my hand crack. Definitely broken. I hissed loudly in pain, but managed to not scream.

"I don't know what you are, but _no one_ hurts one of my flock and gets away with it." I said menacingly. Or as menacingly as possible when you have a broken hand and some other minor injuries. But I think he got the point. I crouched slightly, getting ready to attack. But before I could, he spoke.

"I don't want to fight with you, because, quite frankly, you would lose. Your friend needs a doctor, which my father happens to be. If you'll let me, I'll bring you to him."

I blinked, taken off guard. To tell you the truth, I almost believed him because he sounded sincere. But I hadn't lived this long because I trusted in the kindness of strangers.

"New tactic Itex? I have to say it's not a very good one, usually you don't bother with lying and get right to the killing part." I said sarcastically.

Again, the stranger denied it.

"Wrong answer." It was Iggy who said that, as he stepped up beside me. Iggy looked him right at his face with unseeing eyes as he stepped around him and crouched beside Fang. "Gunshot wound, no major damage, but he's lost a lot of blood, Max" Iggy told me after running his hands over Fang. "He needs a doctor."

The stranger raised his eyebrows and seemed to be considering something for a moment. "Iggy's right. He needs medical attention, now." The stranger apparently was a doctor now.

"What, Itex gives out medical degrees now too?" I spat at him.

"Actually, I do have several medical degrees." Of course he did. Mister Perfect.

I prepared to attack the new Itex creation, but before I could a different voice stopped me. Geez people, could we please get this over with already?

"Max," Angel's voice was hesitant. "I don't know what's going on. I think he can read minds, 'cause I can see my thoughts in his mind. I don't know…" She stopped and I looked back at her. "But I think he's telling the truth. And we have to trust him- for Fang."

She was right I realized. The thought of trusting in this stranger completely terrified me, but I had no choice. Fang needed serious help. I couldn't- I _wouldn't_ lose him.

* * *

-Edward-

Max looked up at me after a second. I was shocked by what I saw on Max's face in that moment; fear and distrust were there, but what hit me the most was a complete and utterdetermination. A determination to protect her family, no matter what.

I made a mental note to never make her angry. Even as a vampire, she would be a tough opponent to beat.

"Right." She took a deep breath. "I'll trust you, but I don't like it, there's something else going on here." I was impressed that Max was willing to trust a stranger that a few minutes ago she had thought was evil. She must really love Fang, I thought as she looked at him lying behind me.

"My father and my sister are coming; they'll be here soon." I informed the 'flock' as I sensed Carlisle and Alice approaching. Alice must have had a vision about what was going on here. I searched her mind and found some information. _Edward, I know you're listening. Stay there, Carlisle and I are coming. I saw you… _she paused_, talking to a winged girl named Max. Stay there with them. Don't worry; the boy will live. _I heard her think, as if reading my mind.

The one named Iggy turned his head- listening, seconds before the rest of the flock turned and watched the trees as my family members walked into clearing. I had been listening as they came closer, but was surprised that these humans could detect the sound of the two vampires. Obviously there was more than wings and strength that made them different.

* * *

-+-Max-+-

My flock and I watched silently as two more strangers came into the clearing. One was a short, spiky haired woman, and the other was a slightly older man. Both of them were just as incredibly good looking as the one next to me, and just as pale. My eyes narrowed as the woman looked at me. I though I saw a smile on her lips, but I couldn't be sure because my attention was mainly on the man walking quickly towards Fang. He looked at the wound briefly before opening the small bag he was carrying. I was at his side immediately. I did not trust him to be alone with Fang.

I gasped as I saw him take out a needle. "No needles." I said.

"It's only to dull the pain." He told me calmly.

"No. No shots or needles." I said firmly. Images of the school, and scientists injecting and experimenting on my flock rushed into my head.

The bronze haired boy walked closer, "Carlisle, perhaps it would be best not to use the needle," he looked at me, "they seem to have bad memories of needles."

The man, Carlisle, put the needle back and I relaxed slightly. "Very well, no needles."

He took out a roll of gauze, "Would you please apply pressure to the wound while I put this on?" He asked Nudge who was watching him with wide eyes. She nodded silently, which was extremely rare for Nudge, and knelt beside Fang to help him.

He looked up at me after a moment. "He'll be fine after some rest, the bullet missed the main arteries and organs, but I will have to take him back to our house and run some more tests to be sure."

I narrowed my eyes, but decided that we had no other option. It's for Fang, I reminded myself. "Fine."

"Edward, set her hand please and check the others for injuries."

The stranger, apparently Edward, walked up to me and asked me to hold out my hand. When I hesitated he told me to trust him. Yeah, right. I hope he was telling the truth about those medical degrees.

"I really do have two medical degrees, so you don't have to be so worried." How did he know I was thinking about that?

"This might hurt; I have to align the bones so they heal straight." He warned me.

I nodded; I'd had enough broken bones that I could probably get my own medical degrees. "Just do it." I gritted my teeth as a wave of pain hit me, and a small cry escaped my mouth.

"Sorry about that, Max." He said and began wrapping it up.

"If you don't work for Itex how do you know our names?" I asked suspiciously.

He said nothing.

"Whatever, be that way then." I said closing my eyes. Exhaustion was setting in.

"Ah, I think I can answer that question for Edward." The woman said to me. My eyes flew open.

"Alice…" Edward quietly warned her.

The pair looked at each other and I could have sworn they were mentally talking to each other or something. There was certainly more going on here than they were telling us.

* * *

…..Edward…..

I glanced over at Alice, "Later, at the house when they have rested a little." I didn't want these avian-humans to leave before we had a chance to talk. "Then we'll talk," I said meeting Max's eyes.

Alice nodded slightly. I saw Max wince as I wrapped her hand up. "Sorry. All done."

"Anyone else need to see the doctor?" Carlisle asked.

He was perfectly at ease with the smell of blood that was very strong in the clearing. Alice and I had stopped breathing, but Carlisle didn't seem to notice the blood. Years of exposure to blood at hospitals had built up his resistance. I envied his control.

"We'll be okay, thanks." Nudge answered for the rest of the flock.

The smallest one, Angel, looked at Carlisle, "Do you think Esme could make chocolate chip cookies for us? They're my favorite." Stunned silence was the only answer Carlisle gave her.

_Great_, I heard Max think, _now she'll probably use her mind control on this Esme so she'll make her cookies._

I whirled around to face Max. "Mind control?!"

* * *

Just a little cliff hanger to get you guessing

Don't worry the next chapter is practically done already so you don't have to wait too long.

R&R please!


	5. Trust?

Chapter 4: Trust?

Hello again! Another lovely chapter for my lovely readers.

I noticed that there's another Max/Light fanfic out there with the exact same title as mine… oops. So if you noticed that, the stories are not related.

Ok, I'll shut up because this chapter is really long. FYI, I didn't read over this chapter as much so it might be kind of bad...

* * *

--Edward--

My mind raced as I processed the information. Mind control. A six year old with mind control.

_I'm seven._ I heard Angel think. Well, even so she was entirely too young to have those sorts of powers. It had heard of mind control of course, but I never guessed it could happen with a normal human. Even if she was 2 avian and had wings.

After Angel's unexpected question Carlisle was just as stunned as Alice and I, however he regained his composure quickly. "Well, uh, yes. Yes I'm sure Esme will be delighted to make you some cookies." he answered. His thoughts betrayed him though: _What have we gotten ourselves into? If she can read and control minds the others could be even more dangerous._

Dangerous indeed, I thought as I remembered watching these creatures fight a pack of flying robots and win. I rubbed my jaw, remembering. Yes, they were definitely dangerous.

"Don't worry; we're not dangerous unless you make us mad. Except for maybe Gazzy…" Angel left the sentence unfinished. She smiled and the rest of their flock laughed. This was accompanied by several disturbing mental images. Oh, wonderful.

"Hey!" Gazzy said indignantly.

"Now I've seen everything." I muttered.

"Are you kidding? That's not even half of it." Max told me rather grimly. Her mind was still somewhat hazy to me, and I couldn't make out much except for Nudge with a spoon flying and getting stuck to her hand, and Angel morphing into some species of blue bird.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Let's talk more about your abilities later, once we get Fang's wound treated and you six have rested."

"Eight actually. Don't forget about Total and Akila or Total will get mad."

I ignored her correction and looked at my family members. Carlisle was carrying the still unconscious Fang as we walked slowly toward our home. Alice was walking farther behind, a contemplative look on her face. Perhaps she had seen a vision of something.

I noticed that the flock were all eshausted For the first time I realized that despite the tough exteriors, they were still just children. I wondered what horrors had caused them to end up as they were- on the run, tired, dirty, and scared.

* * *

--Max--

We were walking through the forest that my flock and I had just been flying over. I longed to grab Fang and get the heck out of there, but I didn't. I couldn't; Fang needed a doctor. I was good at setting broken bones, or putting on Band-Aids, but gunshot wounds were a different story. I had to stay calm and be rational about our situation for Fang's sake.

So, to keep my mind off Fang and the fact that all this was most likely an elaborate trap set up by Itex, I went over the events of the past hour.

We had been flying along the coast over a stretch of forest looking for a secluded spot to sleep, when the flyboys had attacked. Somewhere in the fight, Fang had been shot. In typical Fang style, he didn't tell anyone and kept fighting anyway. I scowled, it seemed so obvious now; the noise, Fang wincing and holding his side…

I looked over at him in Carlisle's arms. His face was set in a pained expression that made my heart ache. I shouldn't feel this way about him, I mean, he's practically my brother! I should not be in love my almost-brother! But I was. I was in love with Fang.

"You should tell him, then." Edward said quietly.

"What do you know?" I snapped angrily. I was angry at myself for thinking about Fang when I should be making a plan, and Edward's comment wasn't helping.

"More than you think," Edward said so quietly that I almost didn't hear it. Whatever. I had bigger things to worry about than Pretty Boy's issues. Like how to get out of here and get back to my mission of 'saving the world.'

"_Trust them, Max."_

Oh greeeat. My Voice was back now_. A lot of good you are! A little help _before_ Fang got shot would have been nice!_ I thought vehemently to it.

"What?" Edward asked, alarmed. "Who are you talking to?"

"Just the _stupid _Voice in my head, telling me to do _stupid_ things!" I said crossly and maybe just a little louder than necessary.

"The Voice is back again? Is it Jeb?" Nudge asked me.

"Probably, it seems like something Jeb would say." I sighed.

"What'd he say?"

"Nothing helpful, as usual."

I noticed Edward looking at me strangely; he must think I'm crazy. Oh, well. Take a number and get in line because you're not the only one, Pretty Boy.

"I would appreciate it if you stop referring to me as 'Pretty Boy.' It's very annoying."

* * *

/--Edward--\

Alice laughed, "Pretty Boy! Oh, that's good. Just wait until Emmett hears that one!" She said between giggles.

"You wouldn't." I growled. Just then, the trees thinned and the house came into view.

I heard Emmett's laughter long before he appeared in the doorway. Too late, apparently.

"Poor Eddy the Pretty Boy got beat up by a girl!" He howled with laughter, and the flock stopped at the edge of the trees.

"Alice, did you by any chance tell him about my little encounter with Max?" I asked wearily. She didn't say anything, which was enough for me.

"Who's that?" Max asked me.

"My soon to be dead brother." I told her, loud enough for Emmett to hear me.

"Too late, Eddy." Emmett said between gasps and howls of laughter.

I didn't wait for Max to reply and charged down the slope toward the still laughing Emmett. His laughter stopped as he saw me coming.

"Oh, so you want to fight?" He asked me, crouching in a fighting stance as I came closer.

"Let's see how you like getting punched in the face." I said as my fist slammed into his jaw just as Max's had to mine.

* * *

-Alice-

I sighed as Edward and Emmett fought.

"Really, do you have to do that in front of our guests?" I scolded. I didn't shout, but I know they heard me.

Iggy turned to Max, "What is that noise?! It sound's like a train wreck or something!" He had to shout just to be heard as Emmett and Edward started throwing each other into trees.

"It… I… Wow. Uh, Edward, and some huge other guy are trying to kill each other. But they aren't." Max said slowly as she attempted to follow the moving blur that was my brothers.

"Don't worry. They're just play fighting, like kittens do." Carlisle explained with a slight smile as he carried Fang into the house.

"Kittens? Looks more like two mountains trying to smash each other into bits." Nudge shouted. I smiled at her analogy and told them to come inside.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty." I couldn't help saying quietly as I led the five shocked flock members and two dogs through our front door. Emmett and Edward both growled, but continued fighting each other. To my eyes, I could see they were being casual about it. They were just messing around. But to these children, it must seem rather frightening… Especially since they didn't know that we were vampires.

"Honestly you two! We have company, behave yourselves!" Esme reproached her sons from where she stood in the doorway. She smiled at me and our guests as we walked past her into the house.

* * *

--Max--

"Whoa." I breathed. "This is… wow." I looked around the huge living room of the house.

"Everything's so… white." Iggy said.

Iggy, can you see it then?" Gazzy asked excitedly.

"No, I'm just feeling stuff, but so far almost everything I've touched is white."

Alice looked at him, and then at me. "Did I miss something? I thought he was blind."

"I am, but I can feel colors of stuff. Like the walls, I can feel that they're white. And when we were in Antarctica I could see the snow and rocks and stuff as long as it was mostly white and not anything else." He bent down and ran his hands over the plush white carpet. "Yeah, the carpet is white, too."

Alice looked a little confused, and I tried to explain, "When he touches something, he knows what color it is. And in Antarctica he could see sometimes, I think it was the lack of any bright colors that made him able to see there. But we don't really know why."

I looked away from her as Carlisle disappeared inside a room off the main living room. I followed him, not quite trusting him enough to be alone with Fang. The room was also very white, but it was more sterile and hospital-ish.

I grew nervous as he lay Fang down gently on a tabletop. Images of the School flashed in my brain, but I tried to ignore them. These people obviously were not going to kill us right away or they would have done it sooner. I stepped up beside him and watched as he took off Fang's bloody shirt. Normally, I might have reacted to seeing Fang shirtless, but the only thing I noticed was the bullet hole in his side.

I gasped because it looked terrible. There was so much blood. I bit my lip, even with our enhanced healing the wound would take weeks to heal enough for us to be able to leave.

Carlisle looked at me when I gasped, "You could wait out in the living room if you would like- I won't hurt him. I promise." I looked into his gold eyes and _almost_ trusted him.

_"Trust them."_ The Voice had said. I sighed because I knew there was nothing I could do by staying. I realized that I would just be in the way if I stayed here and watched over him.

I walked back out and sat on the couch beside my flock and Alice.

"Rosalie, don't even think about it! Come down here and say hello." Alice said to no one as I sat down.

"Who's-" Gazzy stopped short as an insanely beautiful but equally pale girl of about eighteen or twenty appeared at the top of the stairs. "Oh." He managed to choke out.

The girl, Rosalie apparently, glared at Alice. "You know what I think about this already. So I'm going to finish doing my hair." She said flatly and turned to walk away. I noticed that her hair was already in perfect golden waves down her back.

Alice sighed, "Don't mind her, she's just being stubborn. She did the same thing when Edward brought home Bella."

"Who's Bella?"

It wasn't Alice, but Angel who responded, "Edward's fiancée. She's not a vampire yet though so Rosalie doesn't like her being here."

A young man that I hadn't noticed before laughed quietly from the staircase. "Hmm… so this is the mind reader from your vision, Alice? She's very young."

"Jasper!" Alice cried happily and ran to kiss him.

"Are they… kissing?" Iggy whispered to me.

"Their married." Angel stated.

"You're _married?_" Nudge asked. But you're both so young!" She said, astonished.

"Actually, I'm over 100. And Jasper's about 165."

Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, me, and Akila were all speechless. Total, on the other hand, managed to come up with a response- "That was unexpected."

* * *

.….Edward…..

"I win." I whispered in Emmett's ear from my position on his back.

"Fine. But I want a rematch later." Emmett responded resentfully from the ground under me.

I rolled my eyes. "You always want a rematch." I turned and started into the house and Emmett followed me in, grumbling about cheating. My mind focused on the thoughts of the strangers sitting in our living room. I noted that Rosalie was sulking upstairs.

"Your wife is sulking, perhaps you should go and talk to her." I told Emmett quietly as I walked in and sat down beside Alice.

"She'll be fine. Besides, I want to meet our guests. Especially the girl who managed to knock you around." He grinned over at Max and I noticed that her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Hi Emmett!" Angel said cheerfully.

Emmett's eyes widened and a slow smile spread over his face. _This is going to be interesting._

* * *

Mwuahaha! dodges rotten fruit and shoes from angry fans

Ok, ok, I know what you're thinking 'not another cliff hanger!'

Well, sorry but it's going to have to be yet another cliff hanger because there is no good place to stop right here and otherwise the chapter would be huge.

Also, I'm not sure if Bella should appear in the next chap or later. I can't decide if I should wait until the flock is settled in more or just introduce her in right away…

If you have a preference about that REVIEW and help me decide!

Come on people- as of writting this I have 537 hits and only 18 reviews! So just click the button because it only takes a minute!


	6. Who Are You?

Chapter 5: Who are you?

_(For those of you wondering about the update without a new chapter, I just added a few minor changes to this chapter._

_If you have no idea what I'm talking about just ignore this and continue reading.)_

Yay! I'm finally updating… so here's the thing, after this chapter, my story plan is a lot less planned out, so it might take me longer to write and release the chapters.

And unless I get a huge inspiration surge, it's going to stay less planned out. Because I'm lazy. :-P

and Chaos ride: yes I did like The Final Warning (especially the faxness) lol

- enjoy everybody!

* * *

((-Max-))

Alice and Jasper were left understandably confused after our dog with wings commenting on their marriage.

"Who, or what,_ are_ you?" The one named Alice questioned.

"That might take a while to explain." I said.

Just then, the door opened and Edward, followed by the guy he'd been fighting, walking in.

"Hi Emmett!" Angel said to the huge man walking just behind Edward. Wouldn't want to meet_ him_ in a dark alley. Or any alley for that matter. I noticed Edward's slight smirk and his curious glance at Angel. Interesting.

"Ok, would you explain what is going on here now?" Alice asked, looking at us. "Rosalie, Carlisle, you should be here for this." Edward said quietly. How are they going to hear that in this huge house?

But to my surprise Rosalie stalked down the stairs; still managing to look flawless. Some girls have all the luck, I would have tripped and killed myself in those heels, but she stalked prettily over the thick carpet and slid into the chair beside Emmett. Seconds later, Carlisle walked out from the room where Fang was being treated. I frowned; who_ are_ these guys? Edward shot a look at me, it was amused and yet confused at the same time.

"You first." Rosalie said.

My eyes narrowed at her. I didn't trust them enough to spill our story, especially since it could still be a trap. I had been tricked into letting my guard down too many times to fall for that- again. I crossed my arms and said nothing. Neither did the rest of my flock.

Edward sighed. "Look. I realize you don't trust us, and I can easily see why. However, as you are in our house as _guests_, it would be polite if you explained yourselves first."

"Yeah, 'cause we lived this long because we were _polite_." Iggy said sarcastically.

"if you want to play it that way, we'll go first." I said slowly. Itex knows our story anyway; so if they are working for them it won't matter. And if they aren't… well, this should scare them off.

Nudge wanted to tell them and I smiled slightly at her enthusiasm, but didn't object as he launched into the explanation.

"This is going to be a looong story." Iggy muttered. Nudge told him to shut up, which he did, rolling his blind eyes.

"Ok, so _obviously _we can fly. Well, except for Akila 'cause she's a regular dog, and Total 'cause his wings are still small. We're all have 98 human and 2 bird DNA 'cause of Itex."

Carlisle cleared his throat, "Sorry to interrupt so soon, but would you mind if I looked at your wings more closely? I'm a doctor you see, and I was just curious about their structure."

I remembered the scientists when we when going to Antarctica and how they were all fascinated by our wings. "Sure, I guess." She stood up and looked around the large room; no problems there. "Excuse me, Emmett." Nudge said as she stretched her wings out to their full length. Carlisle quickly examined them, along with the rest of his family. I could tell she felt a little uncomfortable being looked over, but they seemed really interested. And not in a creepy, evil-experiment way, either.

"Remarkable, almost like they occurred naturally." Carlisle said. Nudge folded her wings in loosely and sat down.

"They didn't." I said bitterly. Without waiting for the inevitable question, I briefly described about the School, and our 'childhood' spent being experimented on and living in dog crates.

I watched the pale strangers' faces carefully as I talked. Jasper winced and as I quietly told them about the other "experiments" and how we had all been treated. I noticed that the rest of their family was wearing blank expressions.

Iggy took up where I left off and told them about how he had lost his sight himself.

I bit my lip and watched the pale strangers' faces carefully as he explained. "They wanted me to have stronger eyesight. I think they were trying to use hawk DNA. But it went wrong. And I lost my sight because of those bastards." Iggy stopped. He looked up at me, "You can tell the rest, Max." I could tell he was angry, and I knew he hated talking about it. I nodded without saying anything.

"I'm nodding, Ig." I informed him. He rolled his eyes slightly at me, but the dangerous look on his face lessened as I had hoped it would. "Well, long story short; we escaped with some help from my… father. Jeb." I took a deep breath as the memories of Jeb came back. Edward looked over at me and whispered, "You could stop, if-"

"No." I cut him off, "No, I want you to know this stuff. All of it." I told them about our escape, and Angel's capture. I told all of it, leaving out nothing. If they wanted our story, they would get it- and all the gritty details.

My voice got shaky as I told them about Fang fighting Ari at the beach, and I had to stop for a minute. _Ari is really dead now and Fang is seriously hurt, _I realized. What if… No, I wouldn't think of that possibility. I couldn't handle a world without Fang.

I told them about my Voice and its advice to 'save the world.' Big help that had been. I described the _crack!_ as Ari hit his head hit the floor in the sewer and about how he had temporarily died. Because of me.

"And then Jeb said, 'You killed your own brother!'" I whispered.And that's when I realised there were tears on my cheeks and that Nudge was hugging me.

I looked at the stunned and curious looks on the pale faces surrounding me.

"You forgot the most important part!" Total said irritatedly. "Me!"

"Oh, yeah. Angel took Total from the Institute when we left. Stupidest idea ever." I made a failed attempted at a joke as I wiped my eyes on my jacket sleeve.

"Yeah, well. That's our childhood in a nutshell. There's more, but I can tell Nudge wants to get back to telling you our… abilities." I said.

Nudge let out a dramatic breath. "Right, so where was I?"

"Well, apparently you have wings…" Emmett prompted.

"Right, well we can all fly up to about 150 miles an hour. Except for Max- she can fly at like, 300 miles an hour because she has super-speed." I smiled at her term 'super-speed' but said nothing. " Max has a Voice in her head sometimes that tells her to do stuff. Not like in a crazy mental person way though."

Iggy interrupted by saying, "she has_ other_ crazy mental voices for that."

I leaned over and smacked him on the shoulder "Do not." Gazzy and Iggy snickered.

"I also have a great sense of humor." I added.

Nudge continued on with the list, ignoring us.

"Well, as you can tell from his name, the Gasman has certain… unique abilities."

Iggy, Nudge, and Angel laughed and the Gasman scowled.

"He can also mimic anyone almost perfectly." I said.

Gazzy demonstrated by singing the beginning lines of "Baby Got Back" in Iggy's voice. Iggy smiled sarcastically, "Our little prodigy," he said after the laughter died down.

"Now, Iggy here is a master bomb maker, chef, and lock pick." I took up the list because Nudge was still giggling.

"An interesting combination." Edward commented wryly.

"Yeah, I try." Iggy said modestly.

"He can also feel colors, and has great hearing." Nudge chimed in.

"He's just a big teddy bear at heart though." I couldn't resist saying. Iggy muttered something about getting no respect and "living among imbeciles", but I ignored him.

"Nudge can attract metal, read emotions and sometimes control them, and she loves fashion." I noticed that Alice visibly perked up at the mention of fashion. Great, another fashion nut to deal with.

"I can touch stuff and sort of feel who used it, too. And hack into computers." Nudge said smiling.

"You can read emotions?" The one named Jasper asked. "And you can control them?" He sounded very interested all of a sudden. "That explains why... never mind."

I paused, looking around to judge these stranger's reactions to all this. They seemed very calm. Too calm in my opinion.

"And Angel has so many powers that it's not even funny." I continued.

"Angel?" Alice asked incredulously.

"Let's see: she can read minds, has mind control, breathes underwater, talks to fish, and morphs into different things. and she's still only seven."

Angel smiled, well, angelically at the amazed looks from them. I though I saw Edward and Angel exchange a glance, but it might've been my imagination and the nerves making me see things.

"What do you mean by morphing?" Carlisle asked.

Angel demonstrated by morping into her favorite blue feathery bird.

There was a sort of small gasp from them as she did it. "Awesome!" Emmett cried.

"And Fang can blend in and be almost invisible if he doesn't move and it's dark out, he's quiet most of the time anyway so that makes sense. He also has an online blog about us that's come in handy more than once."

And I think I'm in love with him, I added silently in my mind, really softly so Edward and Angel wouldn't hear it.

Total cleared his throat noisily "Ahem, I believe you forgot me and Akila."

I sighed, "And Total can talk and he's growing wings. But he can't fly yet. Akila's just your normal Malamute dog. At least, so far." But hanging out with us, who knows what could happen to her.

* * *

And that's when several things happened at once. Both Alice and Edward stiffened slightly at looked at the door to Fang's room. Alice said "He's waking up."

"And he's angry." Edward added.

Carlisle got up, and so did I. His mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear him saying anything. He looked slightly confused- not a good look for a doctor.

Less than a ten seconds after I got up a door off the living room opened and Fang stumbled out. His eyes met mine for a split second before he collapsed on the carpet. The sight of him laying on the carpet motionless almost made me start crying all over again.

* * *

--)Fang(--

I regained consciousness slowly. I felt stiff and completely disoriented. I was confused for a second before the memory of getting shot came back to me. Maybe I'm dead_._But then I heard faint voices. Familiar voices. And they were telling a very familiar story; our story. Ok, probably not dead then. What the heck is going on? I carefully opened my eyes, and immediately closed them again.

I went over a mental check list. White and sterile? Check. Disinfectant smell? Check. Alone on a cold table? Check. Claustrophobic feeling? Definitely a check.

Obviously, we had lost the fight and been captured and were now at some Itex branch. That didn't explain why I wasn't strapped down, but maybe it was a new tactic. Hospitality instead of evil.

Panic spread through me. Last time we'd been at an Itex building we had all almost died in a hurricane. And that was because we'd been lucky. I opened my eyes again and tried to sit up. This was a bad idea. I fell back as a wave of pain shot through me. _Shot._ Why wasn't I dead? I felt my wound gingerly; it was wrapped in gauze and very neatly done. And my shirt was gone. _Weird_, I thought. Itex almost never treated any wounds we had.

And that's when I heard the sound that made me forget my pain. Max sniffling. Crying. I can count the number if times she's cried in front of others on one hand. And she _never _cried at Itex. Never. Whoever did this to Max is going to regret it. I gritted my teeth and sat up. I was on a table in what looked like a small, makeshift hospital room.

I had to get out of here; who knows what these monsters are planning. I stood up, almost passing out as a new wave of pain hit me. I lurched to the door and was surprised to find that it opened. Without thinking or even looking around, I stumbled out. I didn't care about anything except finding my flock and Max. I looked up and my eyes met Max's, who was sitting on a white couch surrounded by the flock and some good looking pale strangers. Scientists or flyboys by the looks of them.

Then the carpet rushed up to meet my face and everything went black.

* * *

--Edward--

"Fang!" The entire flock screamed in unison. They all ran to him when he lost consciousness and fell; luckily for him the carpet was soft. Clearly, Fang was stronger than either Carlisle or I had originally thought. However, the sedative should have kept him sleeping for a least three more hours. Love can make you do incredible things, though. Thoughts of love reminded me of Bella. She was staying with some friends and would be back in just ten hours. I realized I hadn't thought about Bella in almost half an hour, which was easily a record for me.

I was brought back to reality by Carlisle's very quiet request for me to join him. He was concerned about Fang waking up so soon. _He should have been asleep for several more hours,_ I heard Carlisle thinking.

The flock followed me and we somehow managed to fit them, Carlisle, and I into the rather small room.

I sighed; this was going to be a long night.

* * *

hehe… Sorry about the bad ending spot (again) but I had to break it into 2 because it would be way too long with this and the Cullen's explanation.

FYI, the song 'Baby Got Back' aka 'I like big butts' is by Sir-Mix-a-Lot.

R and R please!!


	7. Meetings and Confrontations

Chapter 6: Meetings and Confrontations

It's finally here! Sorry, about the wait- my brother graduated, and it's the end of the school year so there's testing, and I rewrote the chapter once, so that's why it took a little longer.

But now I'll have more time to write when school gets out!

I'll put a disclaimer here, since I haven't done it in a while and some people might have, for some reason, not read the last ones or forgotten: I'm not James Patterson or Stephanie Meyer and therefore, the two books' ideas and characters that are used in here are not mine in any way. /disclaimer

Enjoy!

* * *

**'''Carlisle'''**

There were numerous questions whirling through my mind as I looked down at the boy on the table before me. I am sure that this is why Edward was giving me his stop-thinking-so-much look.

_Sorry,_ I thought for his benefit, but my mental questions continued regardless. The main questions in my mind were focused on the idea that Fang and his family were only 98 human. Not being human myself, this was easier to accept than it would be for most people. And, this would explain why their blood didn't smell as strong to us, since avian blood was rather unappetizing for a vampire.

I noted that his heart rate was elevated as I listened with my acute vampire hearing and asked Max about it.

She checked his heart beats by placing her hand on Fang's bare chest. I noticed absently that her hand remained on his chest for a few seconds longer than absolutely necessary. Well, far be it from me to interfere with young love.

"No, that's just normal for us."

"The avian DNA increases the heart rate." I muttered, mainly to myself since Edward could read minds and it was too low for the others to hear.

I thought about the structure of their wings while I listened to the abnormally fast heart beat. Wings that seemed so natural on them, but were so unnaturally made.

Thoughts of Itex experiments reminded me of the name they had mentioned in their story: Dr. Ter Borcht. I had met Roland Ter Borcht briefly before he was hired by Itex, but I found his ideas of experimenting with humans revolting- both as a doctor and a father.

I concentrated once again on Fang. It was obvious to me as to what needed to be done.

* * *

**Max**

"Tell me Max, are your heart beats always this fast?" Carlisle's voice snapped me out of my daydreams.

I placed my hand on Fang's bare chest, trying to act casual about it. If it's possible to act casual in my current situation.

I felt his heart beating under my palm steadily. If only I could keep my hand hear a little longer and just…

I pulled away as I remembered that the two mind readers in the room were quite possibly listening to my thoughts.

"No, that's just normal for us." I replied quickly, hoping no one noticed my slight blush. At least Fang wasn't awake to tease me about blushing. Fang was too observant for his own good sometimes. I bit my lip as I realized that Fang was lying in front of me with a gunshot wound that could easily have been fatal.

Just then, Gazzy yawned loudly, completely shattering my thoughts. Oh well.

"Where are my manners? Of course you all must be exhausted by now." Carlisle said. "Esme, could you find somewhere for them to sleep while I finish with Fang?"

Esme wasn't in the room, but as we filed out I saw that she was smiling like she had heard... These people must have super hearing.

"Oh, I don't know- I mean we wouldn't want to take your beds or anything-" I protested lamely as I looked longingly at the soft couch. Heck, even the floor looked great after sleeping in trees.

Emmett, Jasper, Edward and Alice laughed and even Rosalie smiled at me for a few seconds.

"Nonsense," Esme told me. "Iggy can sleep in Alice and Jasper's room, Gazzy you can have Emmett's, Max can take Edward's room, Angel and Nudge can sleep in our room." She directed everyone and pointed us off to our separate rooms.

My flock watched me closely while she gave directions and I nodded to reassure them. Mostly I was reassuring myself though- I knew none of us wanted to be separated from the group, but we all needed rest and they _seemed_trustworthy enough. Angel smiled at me and squeezed my hand before walking off following Esme and Nudge. I heard Esme reassure them that their king sized bed was definitely big enough for both of them.

I watched silently as my flock members spread out and found their rooms with help from this strange family. Soon, it was only Edward and I left in the large living room.

"Third floor, last door on the hallway." he said, answering my unspoken question.

"Uh… right." I muttered. That's going to get annoying if he does that all the time.

"Sorry, habit." Edward said as I followed him up the wide staircase.

I looked around curiously as we walked, taking in the layout memorizing the possible exits almost without thinking.

"Speaking of annoying," Edward noted, interrupting my thoughts. "You seem to be memorizing the exit strategy instead of listening to me."

"Sorry, habit." I responded automatically. And that's when it clicked. Mind reading. Super hearing. Edward and Emmett, fighting in the yard as a blur, crashing into trees and not being hurt. And what was it that guy had said about 'visions'? The events seemed so clearly inhuman now. How was it possible; are they like us? Suddenly, Angel's comment about vampires, which I had ignored as just Angel misinterpreting things, seemed a lot more important.

"Who… what _are_ you?" I whispered in alarm.

He muttered something as he opened the door at the end of the hall, but didn't reply otherwise.

I looked quickly around the room, it wasn't white like the living room, or wood paneled like the hallways; instead, it was black and gold. My eyes took in the large bed and extensive CD collection as I glanced around. There were floor to ceiling windows on the south wall, which offered an impressive view- as well as a possible escape route.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, "Escape route, honestly!" he muttered.

"Answer my question, Edward. Who and what are you?" I watched him closely, ready for anything.

"Max, there's no time for an explanation now. You need to sleep; we can explain everything in the morning. Please, just… trust me." He hesitated before turning around and walking slowly out of the room. "Good night." He added.

"No way, I'm not taking that as an answer! Get back here and explain or I'll… I'll…" The words died in my throat as he turned around.

Wow. He is _scary _looking when he's mad. Scary, yet still totally hot. Oh god, I didn't just think that. Bad! No, no, no. Fang! I love Fang not Pretty Boy.

His words came out as a low growl, "Did it ever occur to you that the answer might not be what you want to hear? And Don't. Call. Me. Pretty Boy."

And then he was gone. Geez, freak out much? Whatever, obviously Pretty Boy had some issues.

I sat on the bed. It was amazingly comfortable. But after sleeping on the ground or in trees for a while, any bed feels like heaven. I lay down and was asleep almost before my head touched the pillow.

* * *

**-)Edward(-**

"I'm afraid I need to take him to the hospital." Carlisle said gravely.

My family and I were having a meeting outside while our guests slept. Emmett had suggested going outside to prevent Angel from listening in, should she wake up.

"X-rays. I need to be sure there is no additional damage internally. The bullet may have damaged his organs or wing muscles." He elaborated.

"No one at the hospital needs to know about them, and I can be in and out before they notice anything amiss." He said, when no one responded.

"It's not a question of 'why' or 'if,' dear," Esme spoke, "It's just the 'how' that I'm concerned about. Even if you do get in, someone might see you as you are x-raying him. And that would raise some questions."

I nodded, and I could hear the agreement in everyone's minds. Even Rosalie agreed that Fang needed x-rays, although she seemed to think that they would be a waste of time.

"I'll tell them I found him along the road and decided to bring him in." Carlisle stated, he had obviously thought of this scenario.

As I my thoughts turned to Max's suspicions, I heard Carlisle mentally preparing to leave, but I wanted to tell them about Max's questions. We must make a decision about how much to revile to these strangers.

"Max seems to think that we are some form of mutant like she and her flock." I said, interrupting the silence.

Alice smiled, "She's not that far off."

"'Not the far off?' We are _not_ some kind of freaks!" Rosalie screeched indignantly.

"Yeah, perfectly normal, that's the Cullen family." Emmett said teasingly. Rosalie looked at him darkly and opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted.

"Well, we have to tell them something about us, obviously." Carlisle said.

"No! They have no right to come in here, expecting us to tell them our secrets!" She spat.

"I was thinking… about telling them the truth." I told them, bracing for the inevitable chorus of angry responses.

Rosalie, of course, did not agree. Rather loudly. I winced slightly as she yelled and told me to do various things that sounded quite painful.

Carlisle held up his hands and asked her to be quiet. "I think Edward has a point."

"Carlisle! Are you saying we should just tell them everything? After all we've done to keep ourselves _secret_? How do you know they won't just fly off and tell everyone about us? Just because _Edward_ is in love with a human doesn't mean-"

I growled quietly and my voice was icy, "Don't bring Bella into this. That was an entirely different situation."

"Edward, calm yourself. Rosalie, Bella has nothing to do with this." Carlisle rebuked us.

"As I was saying, I agree that we need to decide what we're going to tell them. They expect an explanation, as we did from them. It's only right that we tell the truth about ourselves in return for their truthfulness to us." He had to raise his voice to be heard about Rosalie's objections.

"How about we talk a vote?" Alice suggested. "I agree with Edward- they deserve the truth."

Jasper looked over at Rosalie and then at me. I heard it in his mind before he spoke, _Sorry._ "I think we should wait before we tell them about us. To be sure they won't tell anyone about us." Rosalie smiled triumphantly.

I looked over at Esme. I read her thoughts and learned her decision, "Perhaps it would be best if we waited. However, I think we should tell them, given the circumstances."

Emmett hesitated, and his mind told me why; _This is not going to end well… _I heard him think. "Well, given what's happened I thing we need to tell them." Rosalie hissed at him in anger. "But," He continued hurriedly, glancing at his wife "I'm not saying that waiting until later is a bad idea, I'm just saying that since they told us their story, it's only fair…" He trialed off as Rosalie stalked off. He sighed and walked away from us to try to sooth Rosalie.

"It is decided then, we will explain ourselves to our guests tomorrow." Carlisle said. "Now, I think we should _all_ hunt, just to be safe."

_Race you, Pretty Boy. _Emmett, his thoughts were so typical, even when there are six mutants and a talking dog in our house, he's concerned about racing.

"You're on, little brother." I said grinning.

* * *

Ok, I lied, there wasn't a big Cullen reveal. Actually, this is basically filler, but I _promise _that the next one will be the reveal and hopefully some more action.

And Bella will (maybe) come in in one of the next 2 chapters.

Review please! They make me smile : )


	8. Love and a Little Black Dress

Chapter 7: Love and a Little Black Dress

Hello! Basically, this entire chapter is now Bella and Faxness. Hopefully this will satisfy both the Bella fans and the fax fans. Enjoy!

* * *

**Bella**

"Bella, come on, just come out!" Angela said from outside the mall dressing room door.

"No. I'm not coming out in this hideous dress!" _Why_ had I agreed to go along with Jessica, Angela, and Ben? I suppose because it was what friends did.

"If you won't come out, then we're coming in there!" This was Jessica, and I heard Angela agree.

"No!" I cried. "I'm coming out, I'm coming out!"

I felt myself blushing as I stepped out of the small dressing room stall and stood in front of the mirror. I was wearing a low cut, tight fitting black dress. It was just a little too long for miniskirt length, but too short to be anything else. Alice would love it.

"Wow. Bella, you look…" Ben Cheney began to say, but I cut him off before he could finish.

"I look like I should be standing on a dark street corner, waiting for customers."

Jessica frowned because it was her outfit choice, and Angela giggled.

"No, that's not what I meant." Ben stammered something about me looking fine, and I used the distraction as an excellent time to slip back into the dressing room unnoticed.

I _did_ look pretty good in it though… But one look at the price tag convinced me to put it back on the rack.

After what felt like years, we finally stopped shopping and drove back to Forks. By now, it was after ten o'clock at night. Not that any of us would get any sleep since Angela was having a sleepover, which I had agreed to go to.

I had an impossibly long eleven hours left until I saw Edward again.

* * *

**Edward**

I finished hunting earlier than the rest of my family and spent half an hour standing in Angela Weber's back yard- keeping watch over my Bella as she slept. Dawn was approaching as I ran home. Only three more hours until Bella was back in my arms.

When I got back, Emmett and Rosalie were standing outside on our large front lawn. Emmett was, apparently, having trouble convincing her that revealing our secret was for the best. I chuckled quietly as I passed; Emmett's frustration was obvious on his face.

I was confronted by an indignant Alice as soon as I stepped into the living room.

"She put it back! I can't believe she would put back such an amazing dress because of the _price_!" She was whispering, but even so, I winced at her tone.

"Bella?" I questioned, already knowing the answer.

She abandoned speaking in favor of thinking her thoughts to me. _Of course! Who else could act so fashion uneducated? Just_ look_ at this dress! _She sent me a mental image of a short, revealing black dress. It was certainly not something Bella would wear, and undeniably something Alice would.

"It does look… nice." I consented hesitantly.

_Nice!? It's extremely sexy and you know it._ She stalked off, muttering about fashion sense and about having a serious talk with Bella.

I frowned, Bella was in for a shopping trip that could very well last for weeks if Alice got her way. Leaving my sister to fume about my fiancée, I decided to check in with Carlisle and see how serious Fang's gunshot injury was.

Carlisle had taken Fang to the hospital to get x-rays while I was gone, and I heard from his thoughts that he wanted to speak with me. I went into the small makeshift hospital room, and was surprised to find Esme there as well. They were both staring intently at several x-rays as I walked in. Neither of them looked up, but they both acknowledged me in their thoughts.

"Edward, come look at these and tell me what you think." Carlisle said after a moment. "The bullet seems to have missed the major organs and arteries." He pointed to the heart and lungs and traced the bullet's path. The actual bullet, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"What is this? It looks like the bullet might have grazed it." I said, pointing to part of the x-ray.

"Yes. It would appear that the avian DNA has given him air sacs, similar to a bird. In a bird they allow the lungs to maintain a fixed volume of oxygen, which helps with flight. I believe they do the same thing here. Anyway, the bullet seems to have just grazed it. And luckily, I managed to get the bullet out without additional damage."

"It's amazing isn't it? How their anatomy can be so different, and yet still be 98 human." Esme noted, looking at an x-ray of where one of Fang's wings met his spine.

I nodded, examining the x-rays with a mixture of awe and disgust. Despite being a vampire, the thought of using innocent children as tests for DNA altering was sickening to me.

"He's going to heal up well, though?" I asked.

"Yes, in fact, I believe he will heal much faster than a normal human would because of the DNA changes."

We talked a while longer, and then the three of us joined the rest of my family outside again. Rosalie had by then, reluctantly agreed that telling our guests about us might be for the best, but she blamed me for it needing to be necessary.

"If you hadn't gotten involved, this would never have been an issue!" She told me.

"What would you have done in my position, then? Ran off and left Fang to die?"

"Rather than risk exposing ourselves? Yes." She said this icily, but her thoughts said otherwise. She would have helped him. Contrary to her icy demeanor and harsh words, she was remembering the way that she had been left bleeding and alone once.

I did not respond, but instead choose to change the subject. "I'm going to pick up Bella from her sleepover."

"I'm coming. I need to have a serious talk with her about her fashion sense." Alice stated firmly. I opened my mouth to reply, but she mentally told me that arguing would not help, because she already saw herself talking with Bella during the car ride back home.

I sighed, "Fine. But we still need to discuss things other than fashion."

She smiled sweetly at me as she danced toward my silver Volvo. _You still wish you could see Bella in that little black dress. I can tell. _

"I'm hurt that you would think I could be that shallow." I told her as we got into my Volvo, with myself in the driver's seat, of course.

Even so, I couldn't bring myself to deny it.

* * *

**Max**

Now, I'm no doctor, but the chances of a bullet missing every major organ and artery seems very unlikely. But, that's just what that flyboy's bullet did when he shot Fang. Freakishly lucky.

I was sitting in the living room, watching the sky get lighter through the windows when I heard a yawn from the top of the stairs. I looked up as Iggy came down the stairs, "Morning, Ig."

"I wouldn't know." He mumbled sleepily. He paused at the bottom of the stairs.

"Couch, couch, couch…" He muttered, thinking. He maneuvered slowly and carefully around the furniture, and then dropped onto their couch. I noticed Carlisle and Esme watching him from the top of the stairs with surprised looks. I guess I was so used to Iggy acting like this, despite being blind, that I didn't notice it anymore.

Esme smiled at me as they walked down the stairs, and I found myself smiling back. I caught myself, surprised that I could smile when Fang was so injured, and also surprised at how quickly I had begun to trust these people. Just then, the rest of the Cullen family, along with the remaining flock members appeared.

Greetings were exchanged, and somewhere during this, I slipped away to be with Fang. I needed to be with him, to be there for him. I'm pretty sure some of the Cullens saw me slip away, but I don't care.

I closed the door softly and sat down beside him, watching him sleep.

"Morning, Fang" I whispered, knowing he couldn't hear me. "Listen, there's some stuff I need to tell you, but I... don't know if I can."

I paused, not wanting to go on, but at the same time I _had _to say it. I needed to hear myself say this out loud.

"The truth is... I'm in love with you, Fang. And I think there's a chance that you might love me, too."

I thought I saw a hint of a smile on his lips as I bent down and kissed them, but that would have been impossible.

* * *

**Fang**

Unlike waking up last time, this time it happened quickly. So quickly that I might have still been dreaming when I thought I heard Max say, "I think there's a chance that you might love me, too." It _seemed _like I was awake, and I felt awake, but Max wouldn't say that in real life... Then she did something that was so unexpected that I was certain it was a dream. But as she kissed me and I didn't wake up, I realized that it wasn't just a dream. This was real.

* * *

**Max**

I gasped as I felt Fang start to kiss me back, and I pulled away from him in shock. He grinned up at me, "Hey, Max."

"Fang!" I screamed. "Oh Fang, we were all so worried! I thought you might not make it! Are you OK? How do you feel?"

"I feel great."

"Well in that case: YOU IDIOT, DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

Everyone else in the house had rushed in to see why I was yelling, but I ignored them. I was standing now, and Fang was looking up at me in a shocked, but somewhat amused way. "Do you realized how close you came to dieing!? Your stupid ego almost got you killed! I can't believe you would get shot and not tell me! You... you... ARGH!"

I whirled around and ran past everyone else. Outside. I launched myself into the air, needing to be alone and to be able to think.

I had watched the boy I love almost die, only to have him wake up when I didn't want him to. I had told Fang my true feelings, thinking he was asleep, when in fact he'd been listening. I'd kissed him. And he'd kissed back. I should be happy. But instead, I felt confused and exposed. I wanted to scream and laugh and cry all at the same time. Why does my life have to be so complicated?

Was this what love was supposed to feel like?

* * *

**Bella**

I yawned sleepily as I watched the road out of Angela's front window. I was supposed to be watching a movie with Angela and Jessica. In reality though, I was just waiting for Edward to show up and get me. He said he would pick me up at nine, and it was now 8:56.

I turned back to the movie, ironically, a horror flick involving vampires. I smiled slightly as I watched the vampire on screen lay down in his coffin for the night. If only Hollywood knew the truth, I thought. I looked back outside, it had started it rain again, but that was to be expected in a place like Forks. \The rain was the last thing on my mind however, because a shiny silver Volvo slide to a stop outside, with my Edward at the wheel.

"My ride's here," I said as I stood up.

"What? Oh. See you, Bella. Thanks for- Eeeeeek!" Angela's goodbye was punctured by her scream as the vampire in the movie bit an unsuspecting passerby. I stifled a laugh as I left- if only they knew…

I noticed Alice sitting in the passenger's seat as I walked down the sidewalk. Why had she come along? Alice opened the door, "Edward has banished me to the back seat because of you. I hope you're happy."

I smiled at her teasing, "Exceedingly." I said.

I attempted to gracefully slide into the car, but somehow managed to slip and ended up falling in. Edward caught me, laughing.

I stuck my tongue out at him, "We can't all be perfect like you." He stopped me from elaborating very effectively by kissing me.

"You are perfect, Bella." He murmured to me as I pulled away to breathe.

Alice cleared her throat loudly from the backseat. "Can we talk about the rather important matter at hand?"

Edward groaned glancing back at her, "Alice, let it go." He turned to face me again, "Bella, please ignore her. She's angry about a trivial and-"

"_Trivial?_ Hardly. Fashion is never trivial."

Fashion? What was Alice talking about? I voiced these thoughts aloud, confused.

"The dress, Bella! I am talking about the amazing dress you tried on, and then put back for no reason! I saw you wearing it."

"Alice, it was 250!" I cried, "Which is a lot to most people!" I added, realizing that price meant nothing to the Cullen family.

Edward closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, enough about the dress. It doesn't matter anymore."

"Edward, watch the road." I said, knowing it was pointless, but saying it out of habit anyway.

"Why?" He purposely kept his eyes closed and sped the car up to 160 miles an hour.

"Because if you don't I'll… I'll sleep in Alice's room instead of yours!" I said triumphantly, even though we both knew I wouldn't.

Alice answered from the back seat, "You can't, Iggy is sleeping my room at the moment."

"_What?" _I gasped. "What are you talking about,? Who's Iggy? And why is he sleeping in your room?"

"What Alice _should_ have said is that we have guests staying with us currently."

"Guests? What kind of guests?" I asked nervously. "I hope they're 'vegetarians' like you are."

"Ahh… Not exactly. They aren't that kind of guest, Bella." I noticed that Edward seemed almost uncertain about what he was telling me.

"What do you mean by 'not that kind of guest?' Are you saying that you have humans- I mean, other humans- sleeping with you?"

"Well, not sleeping with me personally, no." Edward said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Edward, Alice, please! Just tell me what's going on!" I was practically begging by now. Their vague answers were starting to make me worry.

"Good thing you didn't tell her about Max sleeping in your bed, Edward. That would _really_ make her worry. You being engaged and having a strange girl sleep in your bed without Bella knowing, and all." Alice stage whispered loudly from the back seat.

"WHAT?!"

And so they began their retelling of the story of how Maximum Ride, along with her 'flock', ended up in Forks, Washington, staying with the Cullens.

* * *

I'll skip their story, since you've already read it… Suffice it to say, that Edward and Alice filled in Bella with the basics of the flock before they got back. But she still doesn't know that much about them- and she still hasn't met them. That happens in the next chapter, which I should be done with soon.

Review Please!

click the button... or else Angel will use her mind control on you. :)


	9. You're a What?

Chapter 8: You're a What?

drum roll And now, the chapter you've all been waiting for...

**

* * *

**

Bella

I smiled as Edward's Volvo came to a stop. It felt good to be back.

Edward looked over at me as all three of us got out of his car. I could tell that he was trying to guess what I was thinking, as usual.

"Don't worry Bella, I'm sure they'll like you. How can they not?" And, as usual, he knew what my thinking was about. He gave me a reassuring kiss on the check as we walked up to the house.

"I'm not worried." I informed him as the front door opened and I stepped inside. I'm sure he saw through my obvious lie, but at least I tried.

I looked around as we walked into the living room at the six strangers in the room. They were all younger looking than me, and I didn't see any wings at all- maybe they had folded them inside their clothing or something. I smiled self consciously, wondering what they thought of me.

"Hi! You must be Bella nice to meet you my name's Nudge I love you're shirt where'd you get it do you think I talk too much I can't help it sorry!"

I blinked at the young African American girl standing in front of me who had managed to say this in under ten seconds. "Uh... hi."

"Nudge, honey, you know I love you, but sometimes you need to talk less. Or at least slow down." The speaker was a tall blond girl. Presumably that was Max- the fifteen year old that had punched my husband-to-be and lived to tell the tale.

We seemed to have something in common then; both of us had punched a mythical creature and broken our hands because of it. Maybe we could swap stories later.

* * *

**Max**

I watched from my vantage point high above the Cullen house. I saw the Volvo coming up the ridiculously long drive way (seriously, does it _have_ to be _that_ long?) long before it arrived at the house.

I swooped down and entered the house, putting my confused feelings aside for the moment.

Time for some introductions, and an explanation about who and what these guys were. I looked around, but no one else was in the living room. I called out that they were back and Iggy came in from the kitchen and announced that there wasn't enough food for breakfast. Oh, great.

I sat down to wait while the rest of my flock and our hosts came into the room.

Fang walked carefully over and sat down on the couch next to me. I tried not to look at him, but failed and ended up smiling.

I didn't have time to dwell on this, however, because I heard a car door shut and voices from outside. I tried to look friendly as the door opened and a nervous looking girl came into view.

I studied her carefully: she was pale, but not as pale as the Cullens, with brown hair and eyes, and not particularly beautiful but not ugly. She must be Bella.

Fang quietly described her to Iggy while she looked around at us, just as curious about us as we were of her.

Nudge, in true Nudge fashion, wasted no time and rushed through an introduction and questions all in the same sentence, which left Bella understandably confused.

There was an awkward silence then, as we all tried to think of what to say next.

Might as well get this over with, confront the elephant in the room or whatever that saying is.

"OK, well I'm guessing they told you some of our story." I paused, and Bella nodded. "So I'll get the obvious thing out of the way."

I stood up and glanced around, making sure nothing was in the way. Our wings were folded tightly and hidden from view under our jackets or shirts currently, out of habit. But luckily, our clothing had slits cut into it to allow for fast takeoffs. I took off my jacket, which didn't have slits because that tended to attract attention in public, and allowed my wings to unfurl slowly, watching Bella's face as I did.

Her face pretty much ran the full spectrum: shock, amazement, confusion- yeah, it was all there. But she was handling it surprisingly well. You know, considering the usual reactions of 'Ahh! Flying mutants!'

Still, she had to ask the inevitable, "Can you really fly?"

I didn't respond with words. Instead, I walked calmly past them all and went outside. I waited until I was sure that Bella was looking, took a running start, and launched into the air. I did a few loops for emphasis and then came back down to earth.

I couldn't help but smirk at her expression when I came back inside, "Yeah, we can fly."

* * *

**Edward**

After the flock had introduced themselves to Bella and Max had shown off her aerial acrobatics, we went into the kitchen and sat down. Bella's reaction to Total was priceless, and Total took it in stride by asking sarcastically, "What? Never seen a talking dog with wings before?"

I managed to cover my laughter with a cough, but Emmett wasn't so subtle. He laughed loudly for at least a full minute as Bella blushed and apologized profusely.

Max got straight to the point after Emmett's laughter stopped, "I think it's time you explained to us what's going on."

* * *

**Max**

I studied the Cullens and Bella as I said this, hoping their faces would give me some clues about everything, but their faces were all carefully blank, except for Bella who was still looking at Total.

Carlisle nodded slowly, "I suppose I should be the one to narrate, being the oldest of us."

_He sounds like he's from the 1800's, _I thought.

"Before I begin, I want to remind you that my family and I mean you no harm." He paused to let this statement sink in._ It must be bad, if he wants to reassure us beforehand. _

"My family and are are... not human."

I knew it. They work for Itex and this is all a trap of some sort. I tensed, ready to bolt.

"We are vampires."

Fang snickered, "Vampires? Come on, at least try to come up with something decent." He turned to me for support, "Max, you don't seriously believe that crap do you?" He seemed amazed when I didn't support him with an equally snide comment.

I looked down at my broken hand and remembered Edward's cold and rock hard jaw. I thought of the vague responses and downright avoidance I'd gotten from them all about themselves, their unexplainable appearance in the forest, and their inhumanly good looks. My eyes met Fang's and realized that a day ago, I'd would have been snickering right along with him.

But Fang hadn't seen me punch Edward- he didn't know that the force I'd put into that punch should have laid out a normal person, but hadn't even bruised the pale teen. And he also hadn't seen Edward and Emmett throwing each other into trees and then laughing it off when we'd first arrived. "I don't know, Fang. I don't know what to believe at this point." I whispered.

Carlisle cleared his throat, "I know it sounds impossible. But yesterday, I would have said that a human with wings or that a talking dog was impossible, also."

"Wait, wait, wait. If you guys are vampires, then how can you be awake during the day?" Demanded Gazzy, "Vampires only come out at night, sunlight makes 'em turn to dust!" The rest of us agreed, and waited for someone to explain.

Carlisle smiled, "That's a myth, created by authors and Hollywood."

Iggy joined Gazzy and began a series of questions about ways to kill vampires that were all answered the same way:

Holy water? Myth. Sacred crosses? Myth. Wooden stakes? Myth.

"Real vampires are much harder to kill than Hollywood's." Jasper said.

"Yeah, alright, say we believe all that, but why don't you sleep in coffins? Or regular beds even? You didn't last night, so where did you?" Gazzy was still skeptical.

"We didn't. Vampires don't need to sleep. Ever." Esme informed us.

"Or breathe." Alice added, laughing as we all gasped in disbelief.

"Eww. That's weird." Angel said in disbelief.

"But you don't have fangs. _All_ vampires have fangs!"

Edward grinned, giving us a clear view of his completely fang-free teeth, "I think we should start at the beginning." He looked over at his father and Carlisle nodded.

"First, all vampires do not have fangs. That's something that got added to the stories to make them sound better. And second, I'm sure you're all wondering what our diet... consists of."

Surprisingly enough, I wasn't all that concerned. I mean, if they wanted to suck our blood out they would've done it while we were sleeping. Probably. That is, if they were even tell the truth.

Carlisle continued, "Unlike the stereotypical vampire, our family doesn't drink human blood at all. We only hunt animals." _Good to know, _I thought.

"Some vampires have certain abilities, which were part of their human selves that were enhanced during our change. However, every vampire has advanced hearing, smell, speed, sight, and strength, and our teeth and skin are much stronger and harder as well. Even without fangs."

Well, that explains my broken hand, thanks for sharing that_ after_ I hit him.

Carlisle was still talking, though. "Edward can read minds,-"

Edward sighed abruptly, "Yes, Iggy. You're thinking of number 62,841,908." Iggy frowned frustratedly.

I bit my lip as I realized that I'd referred to Edward as hot last night. And he had probably heard me. That just figures, stupid mind readers. Now I've got two of them to deal with.

"and Alice can see the future."

WHAT?

"Whatever!" Nudge practically screamed.

Alice closed her eyes and said dramatically, "It's going to start raining in: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

I jumped as lightning flashed and thunder boomed outside. Sure enough, rain was now pouring down. So either she's a very lucky guesser or... she really can see the future.

Wow, and I thought _we_ were the freaks. Maybe we should get out of here, I've got enough problems with trying to save the world.

All of a sudden a wave of calm washed over me. I looked around and saw Edward rolling his eyes. "Jasper, I think you may have overdid it, they're practically comatose now."

"Sorry, I got a little carried away, but they felt tense-"

"No way! You can feel emotions too?! Just like me? AND control them? That's awesome, can you teach me how?" Nudge seemed to be unaffected by the sudden calmness. Or maybe this _was _Nudge being calm about it.

Jasper seemed too startled to say anything and Carlisle jumped in and stated the obvious for us, "Jasper, as you can tell, can read and manipulate emotions."

After Nudge had calmed herself down and managed to wring a 'yes' out of Jasper, Carlisle returned to the explanation. "The rest of us have no exceptional talents, although Emmett is the strongest of us, Rosalie could arguably be the most beautiful, although I personally give that title to my wife Esme." He won a smile from Esme with that, "And I... don't have much of a talent but I've been told that I'm a talented doctor, and according to some my self control is something of a talent, for a vampire." He said this modestly, but I could tell that the rest of his family agreed with this.

"I still want some better proof about this vampire thing." Fang muttered.

Emmett grinned wolfishly, "Baseball, anyone?"

* * *

(: So... what'd ya think? I hope you like it at least a little; I rewrote this darn chapter twice before I liked it. And next chapter WILL (maybe) be more action.

I'm sure that right after posting this, I'll remember something I forgot or need to add, so if you see a mistake or have a suggestion or just want to bow down to my awesomeness, write a review! Please. I want to get to 100 :D


	10. Not so Innocent

Chapter 9: Not so Innocent

I _finally_ got around to working on this. I don't think it's as good as previous chapters, but I wanted to just get it done and post it before Breaking Dawn comes out. Yes, this is the probably my last update before it's release. I will keep writing the story after it's out, and it will still be set _before _Breaking Dawn.

And if you were looking forward to a huge competition baseball game chapter you might be a little disappointed. Because I know almost nothing about baseball- so any attempts to write a long, detailed chapter describing it would have baseball lovers reading this screaming and running away in tears. And I'm not even exaggerating by much on that.

* * *

**Max**

Did he just say baseball? "Baseball?" I asked doubtfully. "Vampires... like baseball?"

"Well, it_ is_ the American past time." Edward said, chuckling as he glanced at Bella, who blushed. Okay... whatever, that must be some inside joke.

The guy named Emmett was still grinning as he stood up, "Well, are we gonna do this or what?"

"Manners, Emmett! They still haven't eaten." Esme chided Emmett and he sat back down with a sigh.

This reminded me that we really hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. And that had only been a few burgers from a McDonald's. Bella pointed out that they didn't have enough food here, so we would have to eat somewhere else. Oh, joy.

And so began our usual flock argument about _where _we wanted to eat. I, being the voice of reason, asked the Cullens about fast food restaurants in the area.

Alice smiled sweetly and told us that we would choose Subway. I noticed that she glanced at Edward with a smirk. Edward look confused and than he groaned. Okay, seriously- that is going to get _really_ annoying.

"Oh, Subway! I love Subway! They have the five dollar foot long sandwiches." Nudge went off on one of her ramblings and Iggy quickly stopped her with a subtle "shut up."

I told Iggy to be nice, but mentally thanked him for preventing Nudge from going on and on about Subway.

"Let's go, I'm starved." Total growled and stared pointedly at the door.

After much debating, we decided that Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy would go with Carlisle to get the food and me, Fang, and Iggy would stay behind.

"Four feet of sandwich per person limit, guys." I said. Carlisle tried to hide a smile and Emmett chuckled as Gazzy sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. Little did they know, I was being serious.

"Just because of that _one time_." Gazzy muttered as they left.

I rolled my eyes, remembering when Gazzy had tried to eat an entire 10-foot party sub by himself. At least he'll never try_ that _again.

"You do realize that they're going to buy four footlongs each which costs over 100 don't you?" Iggy asked once they'd left.

I nodded, "Plus Total and Akila, I know. But we haven't really eaten much since we started running again. And that was two weeks ago." Plus, they did offer to pay for it. Wow, two weeks without seeing my mom, Dr. Martinez. I should call her and tell her we're okay, but the cell phone I had "borrowed" from a store had been broken and then lost, though.

"Here, use mine." Edward offered, suddenly appearing beside me. I jumped and he apologized.

_Thanks, _I thought, _but don't sneak up on me like that, or I might have to punch you again._ I smirked as he scowled at me.

I flipped the expensive looking phone open and dialed. "Hey, it's Max."I said when Ella answered. She sounded relieved and I heard her say something to someone else. Mom.

"Max! Oh, I'm so glad to hear from you! It's been two weeks, are you all okay? Did... did something happen?" It was Dr. Martinez talking now. Mom, I mean.

I hesitated, not sure what to say. I heard her say my name anxiously, she was definitely worried. "Umm... we're all great!" Basically a lie, but I knew what would happen if I told her Fang had been _shot_. "We... found somewhere to stay. We'll be safe here, don't worry about us, Mom." It still felt weird, calling her 'mom.' I listened patiently as she talked, watching the faces around me, knowing the Cullens could hear every word. "Well, we did meet some flyboys on the way," I bit my lip, hating to lie but knowing I had to, "but nothing major. No biggie. Listen, we're fine, really. You don't have to worry about us! I can't tell you exactly where we are, but we're with friends."

We talked a little longer and then said our goodbyes. I promised that I would call her again soon. At least she believed my story and knew we were safe. Probably safe, that is. I handed the phone back to Edward, and he took it without a sound. I sighed and leaned back with my eyes closed. I waited for what I was sure would happen next- someone would bring up my lie.

"'No biggie?' I got shot, Max. With a gun. I think that should qualify." Fang, of course.

"I _know,_ Fang! But I couldn't tell her that, you know what she'd do!" I opened my eyes to glare at him angrily.

He nodded wearily, "Yeah, I know." He looked away, "Jeb." I heard him mutter.

Bella looked from one face to another, clearly lost. "Jeb?"

"Max's dad." Iggy said. "If you can call him that. Dr. Martinez, Max's mom, would freak about Fang getting shot and probably call Jeb, who is mostly likely working for the School. And then he'd try and find us, again. And if Jeb finds us, Itex finds us- and then we end up running or worse." I sighed and nodded. Jasper looked very concerned, I guess our emotions were sort of strong, but he didn't calm us down. And Edward just looked impassive- he reminded me of Fang in a way. You know, besides the mind reading immortal vampire part.

We sat around and talked while we waited for Carlisle to come back with the food. After several minutes of rather awkward silence in the conversation, the sound of a car pulling to a stop could be heard outside. Finally.

* * *

I won't bore you with the details, but lets just say that 130 dollars buys you a lot of sandwiches. And also, Total loves meatball marinara sandwiches, go figure.

"Ugh. How can you eat that much?" Emmett sounded horrified. But then again, we _had_ just eaten 26 feet of food between us. I haven't felt this full in a long time.

"So, still up to playing baseball?" He was back to normal again. I think he might have multiple personalities or something.

* * *

**Fang**

"But... its storming outside." Nudge pointed out as she looked through the windows.

"Exactly."

I looked over at Max with a questioning are-they-for-real look and she nodded slightly, yes.

"I'm game." Iggy said as he stood up.

Screw the injury, I'm not going to sit on the sidelines while the _blind kid_ plays baseball. I stood up, "Alright, let's do this."

Max predictably stepped in and told me that I couldn't play in my condition. Something about my safety and not being healed. "Uh huh. So you'll let Iggy play, but not me?" I asked sacastically.

"Hey! Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't see the ball coming." He stopped when he realized what he'd said. "OK, maybe I can't. But I'm still playing."

I rolled my eyes; Iggy has such a way with words. "Max, I'm playing. Besides, you've got a broken hand and I bet you're not going to sit out." Of course, a gunshot wound is more serious than a broken hand, but still. This was a matter of pride, and I wasn't going to just sit and watch everyone else have all the fun. Plus, I wanted to show these vampires that I'm not afraid of a little pain.

"Fine. Whatever. But don't come crying to me when you get hurt." Max huffed. Like I've ever gone crying to her for any reason? I don't think so. She's so cute when she's mad, though. Oh crap, I did not just think that. Now Edward is smirking at me, great. Just what I need. Oh, right- baseball. Focus, Fang.

The Cullens looked at us and we looked back at them. Had we just agreed to play baseball, in the rain, while it was storming, with supposed vampires?

"Yes." That was their mind reader, Edward.

"Hell yes!" Emmett cried. He led the way outside and we followed him into the storm.

* * *

**Alice**

Note to self: never play baseball against flying opponents. Even if one of them is only seven and two of them are injured.

We all walked, human-style, to the clearing that we used for baseball. The 'flock' watched silently as we set up, placing the bases closer together for their benefit. I smiled as Edward complained that the bases were too close together.

"Deal with it, Pretty Boy." I told him, and laughed as he growled dangerously. He was so funny when he was trying to scare me.

Nudge said they didn't know much about how to play baseball, so Esme convinced them to sit out for a while with Bella. The rest of us played a quick game while Esme stood with them on the sidelines as referee and explained what was happening. I think we all tried to show off a little by running, throwing, and hitting just a little harder than usual. They seemed impressed, but insisted that they wanted to play against us regardless.

We started a new game, letting the flock bat first.

Max stepped up to home plate, and I threw the ball painfully slow compared to how I usually threw it. I wanted to at least give them a chance. _Crack!_ Even with her broken hand, the ball sailed into the air. Suddenly, Max spread her wings and took off towards first base. Well, that was one advantage vampires didn't have: wings.

"Safe." Esme said calmly from the sidelines as Max touched down.

Edward, who had gone after the ball at a slow jog because I'd mentally told him to play nice and give them a fair chance, threw it back to me. Hard. "Show off." I whispered.

Iggy stepped up to bat and I glanced around quickly, a warning to go easy and play at a slow pace for his sake.

"Just pitch it already, Alice."

I threw the baseball, it went wide and to the right of the plate. Iggy didn't even bother to swing at it.

"What's the matter Alice, lost your touch?" Jasper was catcher and he teased me as he threw the ball back.

I didn't answer and pitched the ball slightly faster. Iggy bunted it lightly and took off, flying towards first base with a smirk. Emmett raced forward and threw the ball to Rosalie, who was on first. She caught it, but Iggy landed on base at the same time. While this was happening, Max made it to second.

Esme paused, trying to deduce the call. "Safe."

Iggy punched the air with his fist and grinned. "Score one for the blind guy!"

I knew the storm would be stopping soon, but decided to go on with the game anyway. They didn't hit hard enough for the thunder to be necessary, and the storm would be over before my family was at bat in any case. And so, the game continued.

Fang attempted to bat, but got three strikes and was out. I could tell he was angry, but Jasper calmed him down slightly and he went to sit beside Bella on the sidelines. Gazzy was next, and he stepped up to bat quickly. I pitched the ball and he hit it, but it was a foul. Gazzy sighed in defeat and I almost felt sorry for him.

The rain started to lessen then, but we continued to play.

I was surprised when Angel came up to home plate. A seven year old against us? That hardly seemed fair. I pitched the ball nice and slow to her. To my surprise, she didn't even swing.

"Angel, you're supposed to hit the ball." Jasper whispered quietly to her. Jazz can be so sweet sometimes.

Angel nodded firmly, her mouth set in a determined line. She looked so... tiny and fragile. I caught the thrown ball and pitched it again. She swung the bat as hard as she could- and missed.

"Strike two." Esme's musical voice reminded everyone. Thunder boomed in the distance and a streak of lightning flashed ominously as I prepared to pitch the final strike.

Angel's eyes flickered to the sky as the lightning flashed above and for a moment, she looked like a normal seven year old human, scared of the storm. Maybe she was too young to handle playing baseball with a coven of vampires during a thunderstorm. Most people are when you put it that way.

But then, just as I pitched the ball, I saw a grin break out on her face. _Crack!_ The bat connected with the ball. It was a high line drive towards third base. Angel streaked towards first as Max crossed home plate. Iggy somehow managed to reach third base through the rain and the thunder, mainly because my family was as shocked as I was. Well, almost all of my family.

Edward was laughing hysterically, he had known all along what Angel was doing. I couldn't help but be annoyed with myself; we'd been played by a seven year old human girl with wings who wasn't so innocent after all. And I hadn't seen it coming. She'd acted as if she was lost and scared in the storm, when in reality she was as devious as... a vampire.

I doubt I'll ever live this down, being fooled by Angel.

The storm was over. It was still cloudy, but the rain had stopped and the thunder and lightning were moving quickly to the east.

Like the storm, the baseball game came to an end.

* * *

**Edward**

Amazing. Alice- _Alice _had been fooled. _I _had known what Angel was doing, of course, but the rest of my family had truly taken her bait. Hook, line and sinker as the saying goes. I grinned as I ran up to Alice.

She scowled, "Who's team are you on, Edward?"

"Whatever do you mean, dear sister?" I asked innocently, "I was simply helping Angel prove her point." And you seemed to be the perfect vampire to use as a demonstration, I added to myself.

"And what point is that?" She was trying to act angry, but she wasn't. Annoyed perhaps, but not angry.

I chuckled, "Her point, Alice, of proving that they aren't as weak as they look." She continued to glare at me, much to my amusement.

I smiled as I walked to where the rest of my family and the flock were- Angel was being congratulated for "playing a good game."

_Thanks for not giving me away, _Angel thought to me. Why would I have done that? Oh. You're all used to people being against you, I see.

_Don't mention it. The looks on their faces were priceless. _"Denting Alice's ego is always fun." I told Angel.

Fang's eyes met mine for a second and he said, "Okay. I believe you guys now. You're definitely _not _normal."

* * *

Okay, okay, okay- it wasn't my best work. But it wasn't horrible either, was it? Hopefully? Reviews and suggestions are always welcome! Hint hint.


	11. Late Night Love, part 1

Chapter 10: Late Night Love, part 1

Yes, it's early. Because _so _many people have reviewed demanding more couply love scenes I wrote this romantic fluff that has almost no plot value whatsoever. Because I know you all love it (as do I)! Plus, I had some written but didn't know where to put it in. Its in two parts because it's really long and some minor swearing involved, not too bad though. And the POV changes frequently, sorry if that bothers you but some parts sounded better in Fang's and some sounded better in Max's, so that's why it changes a lot.

Warning: If you don't like romantic love scenes, skip this chapter, for the rest of you: enjoy.

* * *

**Max**

I stood silently in the Cullen's yard, looking up at the stars. Or more accurately, the clouds. It was pitch black, without even the moon to lessen the darkness. Of course, my eyesight was better than most people's, but it was still very dark. I stretched out my wings, I needed to fly. I needed to_ think_, preferably alone where no one would disturb me. But I didn't want to leave the flock, even with the Cullens around. And I didn't want to leave Fang.

* * *

**Fang**

I watched Max's face as she looked into the black sky. I wondered what she was thinking about, out here all alone... I wondered if she's thinking about me. I sighed quietly, probably not.

I was standing a few yards away, completely invisible thanks to the darkness and my weird ability to blend in. Max spread her wings and I stepped forward, into her line of sight. She didn't look surprised to see me, but then again I had told her we should talk later.

"Hey." I greeted her.

She smiled. God, I love her smile. "Hey."

She asked me if I wanted to fly with her. _I will always want to fly with you, Max, _I thought in response. But aloud, I just said "Sure."

We both made a running leap into the air and flew off into the darkness. The air was warm, the storm was long gone, and we had all night. A huge smile broke out on my face as I soared and did a few flips and rolls through the night sky. I closed my eyes and let the wind wash over me as I flew. It felt so good to just _fly._

Was there anything better than this?

* * *

**Max **

We landed in the forest somewhere east of the Cullen's house. I glanced around, it was only a small a small clearing in the trees, no more than fifteen feet across really. Then I realized that Fang hadn't landed yet. He was no where to be seen, or rather heard, since it was so dark. I called out his name a few times. Nothing.

"Come on, Fang that's not funny."

Something moved behind me. I froze and stood absolutely still, hoping it was just Fang.

Out of the darkness, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me from behind. _Crap_. I tensed, instinctively ready to fight. Suddenly, whoever it was, firmly spun me around with their hands on my shoulders. I looked up into a face, almost expecting to see an Eraser or worse. But instead...

"FANG! You- you asshole! Don't _do_ that!" I yelled.

He grinned like a maniac and laughed. His laugh made me melt in his still-holding-me arms. Damn him and his sexy laugh. I attempted to scowl up at him, but failed miserably and ended up blushing. Luckily it was too dark for him to see it.

"I hate you." I murmured in a last ditch effort to stay mad at him.

He stopped laughing and looked more serious. "Aw, come on Max. You don't _really_ mean that, do you? After all, you looove me thiis much!" He gave me that lopsided grin I love and spread his arms to emphasize the way I had when I'd said it to him while I was doped up at Itex. I tried to stay angry, but his grinning was making it hard to concentrate. And he was so close to me. No, bad Max! Oh wait, is he leaned towards me?

* * *

**Fang**

I watched Max's face closely, she didn't look mad anymore. _Now's your chance! Just do it! She said she loved you, idiot! _The voice in my head (not that kind of Voice) was screaming at me. I leaned forward very slowly, my arms hanging uselessly at my sides. My face stopped just inches from hers in hesitation. Should I? _Yes! _But what if she didn't... What if she flew off or...

I was still trying to decide when Max started kissing me.

Oh. My. God.

Max is kissing me!

My mouth responded almost automatically while my brain tried to catch up. I felt her arms reach around my neck and pull me closer to her. Then, my arms were around her waist. I felt it happening, but at the same time I seemed almost numb. Then my senses kicked into overdrive as my brain finally registered what was happening.

Heaven. This was heaven. Her hands were running through my hair now. And I'm don't even remember where _my_ hands where, all I could think about was Max. The way she felt against me, the way she smelled kind of fruity- like shampoo or something. And especially the way her lips were really soft and how kissing her felt so... _right._

I pulled away first and took a deep breath of air to keep from passing out. I must have been grinning in an un-Fang-like way because Max was staring at me with a strange look on her face.

"So, we... Well, I mean I- umm... wow." I said incoherently. Smooth, very smooth.

"What?"

"Nothing." I chickened out. Me, Fang, the guy who fights off erasers, flyboys, and white coats without blinking was too afraid to admit that I loved her. _I LOVE YOU, _my mind was screaming, but I couldn't say it out loud.

Max leaned against a tree and slid down to sit on the grass. She pulled her knees up to her chest and put her head down on her knees with a groan.

"What? What's wrong?" What did I do? I sat down beside her.

"Nothing. I'm thinking."

"About what?" Now I was curious.

"...You."

She was thinking about me. That had to be a good sign, right? But what was she thinking? I put a hand on her chin and gently lifted her face so I could she hers. I searched her eyes with mine, asking for an explanation.

"I'm in love with you, Fang." She blurted out really fast.

I froze and the breath left my lungs. My heart stopped. Time stopped. My entire world stopped in that moment. Maximum Ride loved me. It hadn't been a dream when I was waking up and thought she'd said it before she had kissed me. She loved me.

I don't know how long I sat there, but it must have been awhile because Max's gaze dropped from my face. "Say something, Fang. Please." She whispered. "Anything."

"Max I..." I took a deep breath, trying not to choke on my words._ Say it! _"I love you."

She didn't say anything, but I felt her tense beside me.

To my horror, I saw a single tear slide down Max's check. What had I done wrong? On impulse, I leaned over and brushed it away. She sniffed and apologized to me.

"Don't be sorry, Max." I told her with my hand still on her check.

"It's just... I can't believe this is happening."  
"Believe it." I told her as our lips met again.

This is so much better than flying.

* * *

**some time later...**

"We should head back."

"Yeah." I stood up, shaking out my wings as I did. "You know, this probably isn't the best time to mention it, but Iggy saw me leave."

Max groaned, "Did he tell the others? Did he say anything?"

I looked down. I shouldn't have said anything, now I'll have to tell her what Iggy'd said.

"Fang, tell me what he said."

"He didn't tell the others, they were sleeping." I hesitated, and she looked at me with a _tell me right now or I'll have Iggy tell me later _look.

"He said, 'Just don't get her pregnant.'" I winced at her response. "He was trying to be funny, Max. Please don't freak out."

"Oh, I'll show him freaked out, alright!" She muttered as she launched into the air and disappeared into the night. I followed her, but she was flying too fast for me to keep up. Poor Iggy, I should have kept my mouth shut.

* * *

**Part 2 is next. It's a Bella/Edward scene. :)**

But just so you know: Max IS NOT going to get pregnant and Fang and Max aren't going to be doing anything to make her that way. They're only 14! Or are they 15 now? Well, either way its not going to happen.


	12. Late Night Love, part 2

Late Night Love, part 2

* * *

**Bella**

It was 9:30 at night, and I was laying in bed with Edward when Alice opened the door quietly.

"Bella, I need to talk to you." She whispered.  
"Why, Alice?" I asked, snuggling deeper into Edward's cold arms. Edward looked up and frowned at Alice.

"Don't even think about it, Edward! This is a women only discussion. And I'll keep translating the Declaration of Independence into Swahili, so don't bother trying to read my mind. And don't follow us either, or else." She threatened.

I sighed, "Alice, please stop threatening my fiancée and get on with it." I got up reluctantly.

She instructed me to follow and walked out of the room. I rolled my eyes to Edward, who looked confused, and followed her out. She lead me downstairs and into her room. Well, her and Jasper's room technically, but it was mostly Alice's things in the room.

She had me wait, and I watched as she disappeared into her massive closet. She was back in less than a second, holding something.

It was black. No, it was- "No, Alice. No! I am-" She put a hand carefully over my mouth to silence me.

"Shhh! Edward's listening!" She hissed. "Don't argue. Just wear it. Right now." She pushed me into a huge bathroom, the offending outfit now in my hands. She closed the door behind me and whispered for me to put it on or else she would come in and put it on me herself. I sighed loudly in defeat and slowly began to put the tight, short dress on. The exact same dress I had tried on while shopping, naturally. Alice wasn't one to forget a dress. At least she hadn't made me wear the stiletto heels that matched.

I stepped out, blushing. "You're evil. I just want you to know that," I informed her darkly as I turned around slowly so she could examine me.

"I know." She grinned. "Now, go show off your body for my brother. He's just dieing to know what I'm doing with you." She was still whispering very quietly, to keep Edward from overhearing her.

I tried to protest, but Alice was having none of it. She whisked me upstairs, and stopped in front of the closed door to Edward's, and now my, bedroom.

I was still protesting when she began to open the door.

"Edward, close your eyes, and no peeking. Bella, don't be stupid you look amazing." Alice said. I stepped into the room, blushing furiously. I heard the door close quietly behind me, and then we were alone. At least no one else had seen me. I looked at Edward, who was sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, grinning like crazy. Alice must have told him to open his eyes, because suddenly they were. He was staring at me. I felt myself blush even more and closed my eyes in embarrassment. If it was possible to die from embarrassment, I would have.

* * *

**Edward**

I sat perfectly still, listening to Alice's mind count down dramatically from ten. _Open your eyes. You're welcome, _Her mental voice said. _I'll be sure the rest of us give you some privacy. _I could almost hear the smugness dripping from her thoughts.

I opened my eyes, focusing them on the source of the amazing smell and rather elevated heart rate.

Bella stood before me, wearing the dress Alice had shown me in her mind earlier. It was black, short, and tight. The dress hugged her body perfectly. And it was on my Bella. I grinned wider as her eyes closed in horror, the blush spreading adorably. My eyes traveled over her, taking it in. I was speechless. But I knew Bella hated it, so I would to try and make her feel better about it. I stood up silently and crossed the room to stand in front of her. I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, "Bella you look..." I trailed off. I couldn't even begin to describe her.

"Is it really that bad?" She whispered softly. Her eyes were still closed tight.

"You could never look bad; I was trying to come up with a word to adequately describe you. " I said truthfully. I walked in a slow circle around her, admiring my fiancée.

Her eyes were open now, and they studied my face as I stopped in front of her.

"I look like a prostitute." She said sadly.

"Bella, you are far to beautiful to be a prostitute." I told her firmly.

"You mean, you _like_ this look?" She asked doubtfully. "You think it makes me look... beautiful?"

I smiled at her, "You're always beautiful. But in this... this is" I searched for a word sufficient of the way she looked, the way she made me feel. "extremely sexy." I finished.

Her blush deepened and she looked away from me, her eyes stopping on the bed. She sat down and I sat beside her, waiting patiently for her embarrassment to subside.

I studied her and tried once again to find the words to describe her. Amazing, lovely, beautiful, sexy; the words paled in comparison to Bella. My eyes inadvertently strayed from her face...

"Edward." Her soft voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

If I could blush, I would have done so. "You, as always." Perhaps less appropriate thoughts than normal, however.

"What kind of thoughts of me?" She inquired teasingly.

"Hmm... Do you really want to know?" I raised my eyebrows suggestively.

She paused for a moment, "Yes."

I didn't answer. She pouted and I leaned in and kissed her lips softly, "Do you?" I breathed.

"I... don't remember." She admitted. I smiled and kissed her again. Bella was adorable when I "dazzled" her.

"No fair." She protested weakly as I gently put my arms around her and started kissing her some more. "You can't just... not tell... me and... then... kiss me." She gasped out, trying to breathe as I trailed kisses over her neck and arms.

"Oh? Do you plan on stopping my kissing you, then?" I asked her. I was crossing my boundary line, kissing her this way, but I couldn't bring myself to stop.

She groaned and fell backwards on the bed, "You're terrible."

"I know." I was definitely being terrible by taking advantage of Bella's weakness, I knew how my proximity affected her judgment. I loved that fact.

I laid down beside her and sighed. I knew she was watching me, seeing the emotions play out over my face. I pinched the bridge of my nose, "Why must you do this to me Bella?" I whispered to myself. She heard me, and took it to mean something else entirely.

"Do what?" She asked me, concern spreading across her face instantly.

"Why must you be so... tempting. Desirable." I buried my nose in her hair, breathing her in. I gave in to temptation and Bella; for a few more minutes I let the man in me take over, kissing her a little more than usual before I pulled away.

Bella sighed unhappily. I hated that I had to pull away. I hated that I couldn't be the man she deserved. She kissed my arm, almost as if she knew how I felt and wanted to make me happy again.

She shifted and put her arms behind her head. I could see that she wanted to say something, and I waited impatiently. Sometimes I wished I could read her mind as easily as everyone else, instead of being forced to _ask_.

"Edward, can I ask you to tell me something, even though I know the answer?"

I frowned, her way her mind works baffles me. "I don't get what you mean. You want me to tell you something you already know?" I questioned.

She nodded and I shook my head in puzzlement, "Ask away."

"Tell me you love me."

"Bella, you know I do." Honestly, what goes through her thoughts to come up with these ludicrous things?

"I know, but like to hear you say it. Please." She looked at me with her deep brown eyes, and of course I gave in.

"Isabella Marie Swan, soon to be Cullen, I might add- I love you. I will always love you, forever." I watched her face glow, and she graced me with a smile as I said it. "Now it's only fair that you return the favor." I reminded her, wanting to hear the words from her as much as she wanted them from me.

"Edward Anthony Mason Cullen," She started formally, "I love you. No matter what, I'll always love you. Even though your sister makes me wear hideous clothing." She added.

I laughed and she giggled sleepily. This reminded me that it was bedtime for the human.

"You should go to sleep." I said.

"Probably. But I'm not tired." She stifled a yawn and I chuckled. Silly Bella.

I tucked a blanket around her and then brought her back into my embrace, my arms outside the blanket to keep her from getting cold. I hummed her lullaby until I heard her heartbeat and breathing fall into the slow rhythm of sleep. I was mildly surprised that she could fall asleep in such an uncomfortable outfit; perhaps she had been more tired than I'd thought.

She cuddled up against me and murmured my name in her sleep, which left me as "dazzled" as my kisses left her.

The word 'love' could never begin to describe the way I felt about Bella.

* * *

This chapter is probably my favorite so far. Reviews, ideas, suggestions, and all that are appreciated! Thanks a million for all the reviews I've gotten everybody!

**Thanks for reading, now please review!**


	13. The Wait

Chapter 11 which shows up as 13 but is really 11: The Wait

(Sorry I'm so slow, and that the chapter is late!) The stupid chapter numbers are messed up now, but whatever. I got lots of reviews for the last chapter(s) which is **awesome. **Thank you everyone who reviewed!

**NOTE:** this is still set before Breaking Dawn and it will probably continue to be that way. And for the sake of my plot, let's pretend that instead of a day or two, there are weeks between when Eclipse ends and Breaking Dawn begins. Any similarities between BD and this are just coincidence and/or unintended.

Hopefully you like long chapters. You might need to read it in 2 parts, lol. There are probably some spelling or grammer errors, sorry if they annoy you.

* * *

**Iggy**

"IGGY!" I heard a voice (no, not that kind of Voice) yelling. I must have fallen asleep on the couch. Funny, the girls in my dreams usually aren't so angry...

"Whasamatter, baby?" I slurred sleepily to the voice.

"Get up you pervert!" Strange, that voice sounds familiar. Almost like... Oh, crap.

"Hey Max." I said with a yawn as I sat up. "Why're you yellin' at me?"

"You have to ask?" She hissed. I racked my brain, trying to think of what I'd done to upset Max. Well, what I'd done that she would know about that is. When I didn't answer she continued, "Does the phrase 'don't get Max _pregnant'_ help?"

"Wha-? Fang told you I said that?" I glared at... well, I'm not really sure, but it was meant for Fang. I knew he was in the room somewhere.

"Sorry, Ig. I didn't know she'd freak out." Fang whispered to me from the right side of the room. Max told him to stay out of it and I put up my hands up in surrender as I practically felt her glare bore into to me. But if looks could kill, I'd have died years ago.

"Freak out? You want to see freaked out?" She screeched.

"It was a joke! I didn't mean it like that I swear!"

"You better not have. Because we aren't... I mean Fang and I, you know..." She trailed off, not wanting to say the word.

"aren't having sex?" I finished helpfully. I tried not to smirk. I really did.

"Yes. I mean no. I mean yes we aren't. " Max muttered in embarrassment. I heard quiet laughter from upstairs- the rest of the flock was up now. Plus the entire Cullen family was undoubtedly hearing every word, too. Great. "We were not having sex!" She said a little to loudly. She wanted to be heard over my laughter, but I stopped right before she said it and her voice rang loudly in the silence. The very quiet, awkward silence.

Gazzy broke that silence. "Max and Fa-ang sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes-" He stopped as Max ran after him hollering something about bedtime. I stood up with a sigh and brushed past Fang as I walked to the stairway to go to bed.

"Way to go, Fang. What happened to you being the silent type?" Of course, he didn't respond. "Sure. _Now _you're being the emo silent guy like usual."

"I'm not emo." Riiight. Denial much?

"Would you prefer antisocial goth?" I asked him as we went off to our separate bedrooms.

No response. Alrightly then, emo it is.

* * *

**Alice**

Well, that was interesting. Apparently Fang and Max were sitting in a tree kissing.

Suddenly, my eyes went unfocused and I closed my eyes as I recognized the feeling.

"It was a figure of speech." Edward whispered from beside me.

I didn't hear him. I was somewhere else, seeing something completely different than the hallway around me.

_A man. A human. He is coming here, driving up in a black SUV. He's looking for Max and the flock, and he wants... he wants... _the vision was hazy, more so than normal ones. _He wants something to do with the flock. Something about Max, specifically. Something important. It was important to him to see the flock, but especially Max. Max is the key. _The vision changed, moving foward in time slightly. _Max walks up to the man and they argue about something. She's very angry and the man doesn't like that she's angry at him. The man trys to get her to come with him, but Max refuses. _

The vision faded and I was left standing back in the hallway with Edward. His hands were on my shoulders and his face was full of concern. He had seen the vision as well, through my thoughts. He was as worried about this as I was. But what exactly had I seen? It was so unclear and uncertain.

_We need to tell the others. They have to know, _I thought anxiously.

"In the morning, it looks like that happens in the afternoon, probably tomorrow. The flock and Bella need sleep. Telling them now will only make them worry unnecessarily." Edward was already thinking ahead, of course.

"Telling them what?" Jasper appeared beside me.

I sighed, "Outside. I saw something important." I said it loud enough for the rest of my family to hear, but not loud enough to alert our guests, the flock. We all went outside into the yard. Edward disappeared and reappeared moments later with a rather confused Bella and I began to explain what I had seen. They listened carefully while I related to them what I had learned from the vision. Which wasn't much.

"We'll tell the flock about it in the morning. Perhaps they can make more sense of it than we can. Then we'll prepare ourselves for the worst." Carlisle stated gravely after my explanation was through. This time, there was no hesitation. We all agreed.

* * *

**Max**

Alice was the one to wake me up in the morning. The words "I've got something important to tell you." were enough to get me up instantly. I'd only known her for two days, but when she says it's important, something tells me she means it. I followed her down to the dining room and waited as the rest of the flock were awakened by the Cullens and sent into the room where we sat.

Fang walked in and sat in the chair beside me, "What's this about?" He questioned.  
"No idea. But something tells me it's not good news."

Everyone else arrived and we all sat down around the large table. I was reminded of the conferences and meetings I had gone to in Washington, D.C., of sitting around a table and not knowing what would happen. I hated those places.

Alice's eyes swept over the table before she began,"I had a vision." She paused as we all tensed. Correction- I and the flock tensed, the Cullens seemed perfectly at ease. Obviously, her family knew the news already and hadn't told us yet. "A man is coming here, looking for you. From what I can tell, he'll get here at about noon today. He's a human, not a vampire, and he wants Max. Or something that Max has. It was hard to be sure."

I sucked in my breath as the news sunk in. "What did he look like?" I asked quietly, hoping against hope that my idea was wrong. Praying it wasn't who I knew all to well it might be. I argued silently with myself as Alice hesitated. I weighed the possibilities and our options about what we could do. Not much.

Alice started to describe the man from her visions, and that's when I knew for sure. Sometimes I hate being right.

"Jeb." I growled. I knew it. I knew he'd find us sometime. Find me.

"How did he find us?" Iggy muttered to himself.

"_How_ isn't as important as _why_ right now." I pointed out. Because I already knew how. I knew. One of us, probably me, had a tracking device on us. Or in us.

I saw Edward looking at me from across the table, "What kind of tracking device?" He questioned calmly. Too calmly.

"Probably a chip" Like the one in my arm. "or an implant of some kind." I added slowly. "I had one in my arm, before-" Before my life started to spiral away from me? Before Ari died, before meeting my mom, before getting Akila and Total, before almost being sold as weapons? Before I was charged with saving the freaking _world? _"before I found out about it and," tried to dig it out with a seashell and passed out "attempted to remove it."

Edward winced and Fang rolled his eyes meaningfully- _Is_ _that_ _what you're calling what happened on the beach?, _the look said. He might not talk aloud much, but his face told me a lot more than it should sometimes.

After a rather long silence, Esme asked if we were hungry.

I laughed wryly, "We're always hungry." I reminded her.

Her quick musical laugh made mine sound like nails on a chalkboard. "How could I forget?" She said. "I suppose you will have to make due with Subway again. We don't have enough food on hand for you."

"Edward, why don't you come shopping with me so we can make them some real food, instead of them eating Subway all the time?"

Edward wrinkled his nose slightly"You know I hate the smell of human food, Bella."

"Just think of it as a learning experience. Studying us humans in our nature habitat." She joked lightly as she disentangled herself from his arms.

"Fine. But I'm only going because I love you." Edward consented and they left. Ugh. They were so lovey-dovey all the time. It was almost sickening.

Carlisle left soon after with our Subway breakfast orders. We all sat around, worrying and talking some about what was going to happen when Jeb showed up. He, Carlisle I mean, came through the door with the food just as I was about to get up and go outside, if only to get away from the tension in the room.

Needless to say, those sandwiches never stood a chance.

Bella and Edward came back while we were finishing off the Subway.

"What _is _this? It smells revolting." I heard Edward comment as he helped Bella carry in groceries. I noticed that he was carrying at least fifteen bags, while Bella had just three. Vampire strength_, _I realized. And balance, I added as Bella tripped over her own feet and fell into Alice's waiting grasp.

"Oh! Sorry. Thanks, Alice."

"Don't mention it." She set Bella carefully back on her feet.

"I hope Bella's still clumsy as a vampire, that'd make living here so much more entertaining." Emmett laughed as Edward glared at him venomously while trying to put away the groceries. "Aww, Edward, don't look at me like that."

I was just wondering who they reminded me of so much, when Gazzy stole some of Iggy's potato chips and Iggy growled at him. Ah, that was it.

* * *

**Bella**

I sighed as Edward went into the kitchen and I saw him put the flour in the freezer. He was clueless sometimes. I followed him in and put my bags on the counter. He frowned as I opened the freezer and took out the flour, putting it in the cupboard where it was supposed to be. "Flour does not go in the freezer, Edward. Frozen flour is no good for anything." I told him.

"I knew that." I almost believed him, until he took out the frozen vegetables and started to put them in the refrigerator. I sighed and shook my head.

"Edward, what does the package say on it?" I asked him patiently, like I was talking to a small child.

"It says 'frozen vegetables.' Oh." I nodded encouragingly. "It's hard to tell. It doesn't feel very cold to me." He explained apologetically.

I nodded again, knowing that it _was _probably hard for him to even remember eating human food, let alone where some of it should be stored. We continued taking in and putting away the large stockpile of groceries we had bought. I hadn't bothered to look at the cost, but I knew it must have been a lot.

"Did you know that the first known artificial refrigeration system was designed by a William Cullen?" Edward asked conversationally as we worked. He was clueless about what went into it, but he knew who invented it. Typical Edward.

"No. Any family relation?"

"Not that I know of. Just one of the facts I've picked up over the years." We were walking towards the living room area now, the groceries all put away- correctly. The rest of the family and the flock were already there, watching TV.

"How many years is that, exactly?" Max asked from the chair she was in. She had overheard Edward's comment. "Just how old are you?" Her eyes narrowed, "Or do vampires not live forever like the stories say?"

Edward answered quickly, automatically giving the answer that he was used to telling people, "Seventeen."

Max's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "And how long have you been seventeen?"

Edward's mouth became a thin line that I recognized as him trying not to smile, "Awhile." He admitted.

I smiled a little at his response, remembering back to when I had had this exact conversation with him.

"How long, Edward?" It sounded like a demand.

* * *

**Max**

Edward looked at me carefully, "I was born in 1901."

Wow. _Really?_

"Really." He said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "and I died, or rather, was transformed, in 1918."

Okay... That explains why he said seventeen. And it also confirms the immortal, not aging idea.

"So... someone, a vampire I mean, bit you? How does that work?" I wondered to myself out loud.

Edward's eyes narrowed, "Yes, Carlisle changed me. He's the oldest of us, physically and in actual years."

I turned around to see Carlisle, who was sitting nearby. "How old are you?"

"Well, I was born in the 1640's..." The collective gasp stopped his explanation for a moment. "And I was transformed at twenty-three." This is too weird. It must be some elaborate joke.

"Wow. You're old!" That was Nudge. Way to go, Nudge. Honestly, I _try _to teach these kids manners. Okay not really, but still.

Carlisle chuckled, "Not as old as some."

"How old is the oldest vampire?" Nudge asked quickly.

"Well, some of the Ancients were born around 1000 B.C."

Did he just say 1000 B.C.?

There was a beat of silence, and then we recovered enough to voice our shock.

Then, after the exclamations and questions were done, the Cullens gave us a little history lesson.

We learned that Carlisle's father had led witch hunts and vampire burnings, and so had Carlisle until one of those vampires turned on him. Edward had almost died because of the Spanish influenza, but Carlisle had decided to save him. Esme was the next to join them, another near-death experience was in her story. Jasper was technically older than Edward, although he and Alice were the newest additions to the family, other than Bella. Rosalie had been beaten and left for dead when she was found, and Emmett had been bear hunting, but the bear won. Rosalie was originally meant to be Edward's wife, but Edward didn't want to marry her, and she found Emmett and saved him after the bear attack.

Bella's story was interesting. She was a human who _wanted_ to become a vampire. The rest of them had not had a choice in it. I could see why she wanted that; Edward was immortal and she wanted to join him, but at the same time... the whole drinking blood thing is way creepy.

We sat in silence after the vampires finished telling us more about themselves. I looked at the clock, it was 11.30 already. Only half a hour, if Alice was right.

"You said he's coming at noon?" Nudge asked Alice just as I opened my mouth to do the same thing.

"Wait! Shh!" Edward hissed loudly, cutting off Alice's answer. He ran outside in a blur and then ran back in seconds later. "He's coming."

The flock and I stood up almost simultaneously. "Let's do this." I was surprised at how calm I sounded.

I cracked my knuckles rather dramatically as I walked outside. The flock was only a few steps behind me. 'Fight or flight' did not apply here. Flying would only buy us a few more days and fighting with Jeb would just piss off Mom. Oh yeah, and he's my father and I love him too much, blah blah blah.

No, this time I would have to be something something that had never been my strong point. Something I hated to be in the best of situations, which this wasn't. I would have to be... diplomatic.

I stopped in front of house and stood in the driveway to wait. Someone came up and stood beside me, I didn't have to look to know who it was. Only one person always wants to be right next to me when the fighting starts. He was my second in command. My best friend. My Fang.

A familair electric shock went through me as he put his hand on my shoulder and leaned over to whisper something in my ear. I managed to keep my expression blank, but it was hard with his lips so close to my face. "Don't do anything stupid." Oh, way to ruin the moment, Fang.

"Since when have I done anything stupid?" I asked innocently. I turned my head to see his expression and saw him roll his eyes at me.

His eyes narrowed and I turned back to look at what he was looking at. There was a black SUV driving towards us, and Jeb was at the wheel.

It's show time.

* * *

Sorry about the cliff hanger ending, but it was getting too long.

Most of my info and facts here are from wikipedia and various fansites, especially the Twilight Lexicon. I have no idea if Edward is that clueless, but in my story he is. Yes, William Cullen is real and frozen flour really is not good for anything.

Again, sorry I take forever with updates and thanks everybody who reads and reviews!

Click the button below to make my day better :)


	14. Confronting Jeb

Confronting Jeb

correction; last chapter I said Carlisle is the oldest, but Esme is actually 3 years older than him. She's 26 and he's 23.

Moving on- I've never done Jeb's POV before, but I'm going to try. Read and enjoy.

-_**Going back in time to right after Max got off the phone with her mom aka Dr. Valencia Martinez:**_

* * *

**Jeb**

I jumped as my cell phone rang. The ringtone told me it was Valencia and I flipped my phone open.

"Yes?" I asked politely. I closed the file I had been looking at and leaned back in my chair. I could tell it was going to be a long day.

"Jeb, hi. Listen, Max called-"

"She did? Is everyone alright?"

"She _said _everyone was fine..." I heard the hesitation in her voice. Not a good sign.

"But?" I prompted.

"But she didn't sound fine to me, Jeb. She sounded almost scared." For a moment, I was just a concerned father. But then, the scientist part of me kicked in and I immediately turned on my laptop and started to open the tracking program.

"Did she tell you where they were?"

Valencia sighed, "No. She just said 'Can't tell you where we are but we're with friends, don't worry about us.'

It was definitely something Max would say. "Alright, I'll see if I can find them." I paused while the program on my laptop came up and I typed in the search parameters.

I waited impatiently as the program searched for the tracking device's location.

"You have chips in them don't you?" She asked in outrage. "How could you? They trusted you, Jeb!"

"Valencia please, have a little faith. Yes, I'm using a chip, but Itex doesn't know about it. It's an old one that Itex thinks malfunctioned. " In reality, the malfunction was me tampering with the signal and redirecting it to my laptop. "I just wanted to keep tabs on them."

"_'Keep tabs on them?!' _They aren't animals, Jeb! They're human beings! They're children!" She exploded in fury.

"I know. That's why Itex doesn't know about it." Yet. They will surely find out about my deception eventually. And I'll probably regret it when they do.

"You're tracking them without Itex's knowledge?" She was calmer now.

I didn't answer that one. She shouldn't be involved with my problems. The computer beeped and I smiled. "I know where they are. I'm going after them. Don't bother trying to convince me otherwise. I'll call you when I get there. Bye, Valencia."

She said goodbye reluctantly and I hung up and grabbed my coat. I printed off the three pages of results, closed the lid on the screen, and shoved the laptop in its case. I took the printed pages with me also and read it while I left the office building. The offices were a cover-up ,of course, for the less-than-legal dealings of Itex and other companies like it.

I looked down at the pages in my hand.

_Search results: 1. Location: United States of America. Forks, Washington. _

I ignored the other information on the pages like latitude and longitude, satellite imagery of the area, the closest Itex branches and the like. My eyes focusing instead on this: _Known Itex observations: werewolf sightings- samples pending._

Werewolves, I snorted. Sometimes Itex's "observations" were ridiculous. I got into a large black SUV and started the engine. There are some benefits to working where I did, one of which is a nice ride.

I entered the latitude and longitude from the tracking chip's location into the GPS on the dashboard. There was no address given. The directions appeared on the screen and I started out on a very long drive.

* * *

I almost missed the turn because the driveway was so hard to see through the rain. Only my GPS's directions kept me from driving right on by without noticing it. I drove slowly up the winding path through the trees. Max sure knew how to find an out of the way place to stay hidden in.

I yawned, I'd been driving all night and it was almost noon. I needed to sleep, but I had to be sure the flock was really doing as good as Max had made it out to be.

I looked over at the page of satellite photos of the area. According to them, there was a house back here somewhere.

And then I went around a curve in the path and it was there. A huge white house out in the middle of nowhere.

I slowed and then stopped when I spotted a group of people standing in front of the house. They were expecting me, it seems. Max, Fang, and the rest of the flock were there, standing in the middle of the driveway leading up to the house. I shut off the car and got out, watching Max's face.

Max walked slowly towards me, determination and anger etched on her face. Why was she angry at me? Oh that's right, she blames me for the voice in her head and for Itex wanting them all dead.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Max snapped at me from a few yards away. No 'nice to see you, Jeb,' or 'I missed you, Dad.' Just blunt and to the point. She must get that from me.

"It's good to see you too, Max." I said. "How-"

"Answer the question."

I took a deep breath and put up my hands in surrender. "Your mother called me, she said you'd called and that you sounded strange. She was worried that something had happened to you."  
She glared at me from where she was standing, "Did you tell_ them_? You told them where we are, I bet."

I didn't have to ask who "them" was, it was only to obvious. Itex. She still didn't trust me. "No. No one else knows I'm here."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

I looked over her shoulder and saw Fang coming towards us. Max turned around and shot him a glare, "Stay out of this, Fang. You're not healed yet."  
Healed? What had happened to Fang? I should have known that something would happen.

"What happened?" I asked the two of them.

Fang's eyes met mine. "I think you know damn well what happened." And suddenly his fist was coming towards my face. And that's when it got crazy.

* * *

**Edward**

I saw the punch in Fang's mind before it was thrown and reacted immediately. My family and I had been watching the confrontation from the forest, well out of Jeb's sight. Of course, we could hear and see everything perfectly regardless of the distance.

But I wouldn't let Fang's temper cause bloodshed. I leaped out of the trees and managed to catch Fang's fist in the air, still a foot from Jeb's nose.

"Don't. We can't afford for blood to be shed." I said calmly. Fang winced, but I didn't let go of his fist until his thoughts changed from revenge back to more rational things_. _"I know you might think it's worth it, but trust me when I say it wouldn't end well." My eyes flickered briefly to my family, still standing at the edge of the forest, and then back to Fang. He nodded, and I let go of his hand and stepped back. He flexed his fingers, _Ow._

Jeb's eyes were closed in anticipation of the punch and he didn't open them.

_What if others follow him? Knock him out. What happens now? I hope we won't have to move because of this. I can't believe he found us here. How? Why? _The thoughts of the other people around me swirled through my head in an unbroken stream._ Knock him out, Edward. Before he does something stupid, _Emmett thought again.

I sighed and stepped in front of Jeb, "Sorry about this." I murmured as touched a pressure point on his neck. I reached forward and caught him as he fell, unconscious. I had learned a few useful things about pressure points while getting my medical degrees.

"Just a pressure point. He'll wake up in a few minutes." I assured the nervous flock as their thoughts reached me.

I picked up Jeb and carried him into the house with the flock and most of my family following close behind.

Jasper stayed outside and searched through the SUV, looking for anything that might indicate that others might be coming. I knew he was also doing it to stay away from the human.

I was just laying Jeb down on the couch when Jasper ran through the door holding some papers and a laptop.

_He's tracking them with a computer chip. The papers have the location and his GPS system led him right to our house. And there's something else..._

"What is it?"

"Read this." He handed me a print off of something and my eyes scanned the page. "Look," He pointed out a specific line. Everyone crowded around me, trying to read it.

_Known Itex observations: werewolf sightings- samples pending._

"Ha! Werewolves? Thats..." Gazzy looked around at our faces, no one else was smiling. "impossible." He finished.

"Yeah, like finding a coven of vampires in the woods." Iggy pointed out with a wry smile.

Emmett chuckled, but at the same time Jeb groaned.

Everyone fell silent as his eyes blinked slowly open. "Ugh. What happened?"

* * *

**Max**

My anger flared at his question, only to be replaced by Jasper's calm. "Well, lets see... You tracked us here, probably alerting Itex to where we are, we had a _touching _reunion, and Fang tried to punch you in the face but Edward stopped him. And then Edward knocked you out and brought you inside. Which is a total waste of time because obviously, you're not staying." I said coldly, looking over at Edward during the last sentence.

"Thanks for the recap. And I don't plan on staying, I just came to-"

"No, you're staying all right. In fact, we really can't let you leave, considering what we found in your car." Alice interrupted lightly.

"You searched my car?" He didn't sound surprised. Working for Itex does that to you.

"Yes. And found some incriminating evidence." Jasper answered.

"Incriminating-? Oh, no wait, I can explain-"

Rosalie sniffed, "What did you expect? He's with them," She inclined her head towards me and my flock.

"He. Is. Not. With. Us." Fang growled between his teeth.

"Please. His tracking device is honed in on Max's leg. Are you saying it's a coincidence that just days after you show up, he comes after you?" I watched as she flounced off upstairs. Bitchy much?

Her comments freaked me out nonetheless. My leg? I don't have a chip in my leg, it's in my arm. Unless I had another one I didn't know about.

"Ignore her. She tends to overreact." Edward muttered in apology. The corners of Bella's mouth lifted in a smile and she rolled her eyes, I heard her say something under her breath that sounded like "overreaction runs in the family."

My mind was on other things. Tracking device. From Jeb's car. Focused on my leg. My fault. I led him here. Flyboys and erasers will follow, they always do. And it's my fault.

"Don't blame yourself. I think he really is just concerned for your safety." Edward told me quietly.

"You _think_? You don't know? How can _you _not know for sure?" I asked him with a frown.

"His mind is... blurry. It's hard to get a good read on it. It shifts away from me before I hear everything."

"Oh god. I'm going to pretend I did not just hear that." Jeb choked out. He leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes.

"I still can't read Jeb's mind at all." Angel whispered from beside me. I tried to comfort her by squeezing her hand and putting on a brave face.

_Thanks Max, _She projected her thought into my head.

"Interesting..." Edward murmured distractedly.

"Can we get back to the matter at hand? What're we going to do with this guy?" Emmett, getting right to the point as usual.

"I think I'll just be going, if you don't mind." Jeb stood up quickly, but was pushed back down to the couch easily by Alice.

Edward leaned over to Jasper and whispered something in his ear. The next second, Jasper was gone. Edward muttered something, but it was too low for me to hear.

Alice leaned forward, her face close to Jeb's. "Sorry, I'm afraid we can't let you do that. You see, you know too much." She whispered in a quiet but threatening tone with a grin that revealed her unnaturally perfect teeth.

_**(A/N: If I was evil, I'd end the chapter here. But I'm not that evil. )**_

"For heaven's sake, Alice! You'll scare the poor man to death!" Esme exclaimed with a sigh. "Don't listen to her, she's just being dramatic. I'll get you some food, dear. I'm sure you're starving by now." She glided away into their huge kitchen. Why vampires need a kitchen, I don't know. And why one of said vampires acted so motherly was yet another mystery.

"Warn me next time you want to give him a heart attack, Alice. It's hard enough being in the same room as him." Jasper said from where he stood in the open doorway.

Do all vampires talk in riddles? Or is it just the ones I stumble upon? Because they seem to do it a lot.

_Blood makes him thirsty. Jeb's heart rate made it worse, _Angel thought projected into my head.

Oh. Thanks, Angel.

I saw Jeb's face relax as a wave of calm swept through the room via Jasper.

Despite the calm, Jeb's eyes stayed glued to Alice with a look of undisguised horror and admiration plastered across his face.

It was tempting to comment on this, but I didn't.

"Well, it's not much but it will have to do for now. I'm not much of a chef." Esme came back into the living room and handed Jeb a plate with a large sandwich and a coke. The sandwich looked like it had come straight off the pages in a gourmet cooking. magazine, naturally.

"Naturally," Now that's ironic, coming from a genetic mutant like me and talking about vampires.

Jeb took it, nodding his thanks to Esme before digging in.

* * *

Anticlimactic chapter ending, I know. But at least it isn't a cliff hanger... right?

Reviews are appreciated!! (even though I almost never reply because I'm lazy. sorry)

And if you've not already- you must listen to the Mitch Hansen Band! This music is AMAZING. Look him up on itunes or myspace or youtube and listen to his album Twilight Hour. I'm listening to 'The Last Thing' for the billionth time as I type this. I love this song.


	15. Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek

I'm still not Stephenie Meyer or James Patterson.

Originally, I wasn't going to involve the werewolves much, but I decided to be a little different than the normal. So hopefully my new plot works out, lol

* * *

**Kevin Rodriguez (Itex Intern)**

I jumped at the voice that could be heard easily through the door, "Thompson! I want you to get me some more information on this! And don't come back unless you've got_ evidence_ this time. None of that witness sighting crap that you got last time, you hear me? Bring me back something conclusive, or don't come back at all!"

That was the Director. And unfortunately, I had a file to give her.

I stopped outside of her office door, not wanting to intrude. Why did I get the worst jobs? Deliver this file, Rodriguez, he had said. Take it to the Director, he told me. Last door at the end of the hall, he had oh-so-helpfully instructed. As if anyone wasn't aware of the location of the Director's office! It was errands like this that made-

Before I could finish my thought the door in front of me opened and I was looking into the face of the Director herself.

She glared at me, "Who are you and why are you standing here?"

"I- Rodriguez, ma'am. I'm supposed to deliver this file to you, ma'am. From the Experimentation department. He- he said it was urgent." I handed over my charge, a thick envelope stamped with some code or other on the outside of it.

"Ah yes. Just the file I've been waiting for." She grabbed the envelope out of my hand and motioned me inside her office.

I followed hesitantly into her large office. "You may sit."

I sat. You didn't argue with the Director. I glanced over at the man sitting beside me. He was tall and thin with slicked back brown hair. I didn't recognize him, but assumed he was Thompson.

The Director opened the envelope and set it on her large desk. She stood behind it, looking through what was inside and then up at Thompson.

"This," she said quietly, "is what you will be looking for." She took something out of the envelope. A photograph.

She held it up so both of us could see it. I squinted at little, trying to figure out what I was looking at.

It was blurry, but I could make out the outline of something among a few trees. It looked like a huge dog, or maybe a small, very shaggy pony.

"This, Thompson, is what you will find and if all goes well, what you will bring back or take samples from."

She slid the photo across the desk, into the hands of the man beside me.

"Leave immediately. Take this envelope with you. Tell no one where you are going or why. And take him," She nodded to me, "with you."

My jaw dropped. "Me? But- but-"

"Do not argue with me, boy." The Director whispered softy. "Do as I say and do it now." Her eyes were icy and dangerous.

"Yes ma'am." I said.

Thompson and I rose and left the office without another word.

Only after the door to her office closed did I dare speak. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Werewolves."

* * *

**Jeb**

They all watched me eat. If I hadn't been so hungry, this would have made me nervous.

Nudge spoke first, as I had expected since she had been practically bouncing up and down in impatience for a full five minutes. "So, why are you here?"

I looked up at her, "I already told you. Va- Dr. Martinez called me and"

"No, I mean why are you _really_ here," she interrupted.

I grimaced. Was it really that obvious? "I was worried about you."

"Yeah. That'll be the day." Fang muttered.

"Alright, next question: _Why_ is there a tracking chip in my _leg_?" Max demanded.

"Err… well…" I stammered. "I don't-"

"Itex put it in when you. Jeb changed it's signal feed to go to his laptop. He uses it to check your location." The tall bronze-haired teen said quietly. "It's getting clearer for me now."

Mind reading. What has Max gotten herself into? What have I gotten _myself_ into?

"That would take some explaining."

"No!" The beautiful blond hissed.

The bronze haired boy seemed perfectly at ease. "I didn't say I was going to, Rosalie. Calm down."

_Ok, hot blond is Rosalie, _I thought to myself.

The bronze-haired boy looked at me for a fraction of a second before saying "Introductions, excellent idea."

* * *

**Alice**

After the introductions, Max picked up her questioning where she had left off.

"How long have you been tracking us?"

Jeb looked uncomfortable- he was trying to decide if he could run past us and Jasper and reach his car before we stopped him. Which of course he couldn't, but he didn't know that for sure. At least not yet, because Carlisle was wondering how much he knew already about us and if he could figure out what we were from that.

But back to the present; Jeb didn't respond to Max's question so she asked it again.

This time he answered her. "I don't know how long it was in your leg before I changed the signal. But I've been using it myself for about three years."

Max took a deep breath. "Three years. I wish I was surprised by that, but I'm not."

Jeb winced, "I suppose I deserve that."

I closed my eyes briefly and mentally gasped as my vision changed suddenly from regular darkness to bright daylight.

_Two men. Coming here. They're looking for something, something about Itex. Werewolves. They're looking for evidence of werewolves. And they're heading for the one place were they might actually find some. La Push. _

The vision ended and I frowned, searching the future for anything more. Suddenly, my vision went blank and I could see nothing. I frowned and tried a different possibility of the future. Blank.

Edward growled at this. He knew as well as I did what that meant. At some point in the future, we would come into close contact with La Push's pack of werewolves.

* * *

**Kevin Rodriguez**

"Turn left 100 feet ahead."

Thompson, who was driving, slowed down and turned as instructed by the tinny electronic voice. "Good thing we have a GPS, eh Rodriguez?"

Thompson was a talkative man, and had been doing just that for most of the car trip. It was starting to get on my nerves, but I didn't let it show.

"Sure is, we'd've gotten lost in all this rain otherwise." I replied to humor him.

"Yeah. Doesn't it strike you as odd that these werewolves would live in probably the rainiest place in the country?" He asked.

"Good point, how can howl at the moon through all the clouds?" I joked.

Thompson chuckled. "Werewolves. Of all the crack assignments..."

"Tell me about it. What'd you get for witness sightings last time?"

"Oh, just a couple from the local reservation. They said they'd seen some huge dogs running around in the trees, howling, and so they assumed it was werewolves because of some local legend about spirit wolves or something."

"Huh." I was distracted by a blur outside of my window. Through the rain and the trees, something was running.

"Thompson, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" I whispered.

"What are you talking about? I don't-" He's breath caught and I knew that he'd seen exactly what I'd seen.

We both looked at each other, and then back outside through the windshield. Whatever it had been, it was gone now.

"You don't think…" I trailed off.

"No way. That was just, no. No." Thompson stared out into the rain over the steering wheel and avoided looking at me.

"Well, you have to admit, it's a pretty big coincidence that we get sent here looking for werewolves and we see _something_ big and furry running along through the forest."

"Yeah, but come on. _Werewolves_? You've been reading too much Harry Potter."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with liking Harry Potter."

"Right. Anyway, back to the _real world_," He rolled his eyes, "where did the Director say we're supposed to find these 'werewolves?'"

"According to this, the sightings were all around the La Push reservation."

"La Push… That's the reservation I got the sightings from last time."

"Maybe it's not all crazy talk after all…" I said with a smile.

"Whatever. Lets just ask the locals, take a look around, and then we'll see if there really are any werewolves.

* * *

**Jacob**

"Hey Jake, check out the out-of-towners over there." Seth pointed to two men dressed in suits who had just gotten out of a black SUV and were walking slowly towards us.

I snorted, "Must work for the government or something."

"Yeah. Oh great, looks like they want to talk to us." Seth muttered as the two strangers come closer.

"Excuse me sirs, we're not from around here" _Yeah, that's obvious_, "and we were wondering if you two had ever seen or heard of anyone around here seeing a werewolf?"

Shit. Play it cool, Jake. I smiled and laughed a little, "Werewolves? Nope, never seen one. How bout you, Seth?"

Seth played along perfectly. A born actor, that kid. "Werewolves? I wish. That'd be cool."

"Yeah, it'd definitely liven this place up if we had some werewolves around."

"Totally. Too bad there aren't any around here." Seth said. He even managed to look a little bummed at the thought of La Push being werewolf-free.

"Yep. This place is about as boring and normal as anywhere. Nothing supernatural or weird here." _You're overdoing it. Act normal._

"My colleague and I heard about a local legend involving werewolves, and we were just wondering if it had any merit." The tall skinny one said.

Seth shook his head, "Those old legends are nothing but made-up old stories." He glanced at me.

"Yep." I tried to keep from looking nervous.

"Ah well. Thanks for your help." The shorter guy said. They turned around and walked back the way they had came.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Seth swore colorfully and said we had better tell Sam about this.

I nodded and we started running, then phasing as we got to the edge of the trees.

Sam was running patrol around La Push alone today and as soon as we phased, I started talking.

"_Sam! Sam listen, there were these two strangers and they-"_

Seth cut in "_were asking people about werewolves and the old legends-"_

I finished his thought "_we played it cool and told 'em it was all bull, but they didn't seem to buy it."_

Sam ran towards us from the south and we ran towards him from the north. _"Start from the beginning. Show me what happened."_ He commanded.

Seth and I retold and showed Sam exactly what had happened while he listened silently.

Halfway through the retelling Sam, Seth and I met up in a clearing but we stayed in wolf form to make explaining easier.

After we had both explained the situation and answered Sam's questions, he went into full Alpha mode. _"Seth, get the rest of the pack and tell them to meet back here. Jake, you stay here and we'll try and figure out what the hell to do."_

Seth ran off and his consciousness was out of our heads once he phased back to human.

After a few minutes, the entire pack was sitting in the clearing, except for Sam who was pacing back and forth.

"_Best case scenario," _Sam was saying,_ "these two forget about werewolves and the legends and just leave."_

"_And the worst case scenario?" _Embry asked with a growl.

Sam stopped pacing and looked at the rest of us, _"Worst case scenario, they find out about us and tell people. Tourists and werewolf hunters start looking for us and we get turned into some freak-show attraction or end up as lab experiments."_

"_And if werewolves get exposed, than those bloodsucking vamps'll be at more risk too, and those Volturi monsters might come here and take care of all of us for putting them at risk." _I added grimly.

Sam agreed._"That, Embry, is the worse case scenario." _

* * *

No offense to the amazing Harry Potter series or JK Rowling intended. It was only mentioned because it was the only popular book series/movies that mention werewolves that I could think of.

So, what did you think? And even if you think it sucks, or maybe especially if you think it sucks- review.


	16. Nice to Meet You

I've got nothing to say here.. just read.

oh yeah: I'm not James Patterson or Stephenie Meyer. Also, a little swearing involved. Not a lot but if you get offended by the word fuck than don't read that part of this chapter. Except that I just said it so I guess it's too late to not read it. Nevermind just read.

**

* * *

**

**Bella**

I heard the phone ringing but I didn't open my eyes. Instead, I snuggled farther into Edward's cold arms and sighed.

"Bella, your cell phone is ringing." He whispered into my hair.

"I know." My voice was muffed by his chest, but he heard me anyway of course.

"It might be Charlie." He pointed out. I sighed again and disentangled myself from his cold embrace. We had been laying together on his bed, listening to the CD with my lullaby on it. I got up and picked up my phone from the table.

I answered it, expecting to hear Charlie's voice, but it wasn't him.

Instead of Charlie, Jacob was the one who had called. For a second, I wondered how he had gotten my cell phone number, but I remembered that I had given it to him after I had got it. "Hi Bella. Listen… um… ah… well, you see Sam wanted me to ask you to ask the Cullen's about-" Jake stopped as if he didn't want to finish. He sighed, "Is the- Carlisle there?"

I told him Carlisle was at work, and Jake muttered something that sounded like "I guess I could talk to Edward then."

Edward, who was right behind me and could hear every word of this exchange, took the phone. His voice was polite, and his face was a careful mask with no emotion.

I watched his face as he listened to what Jake was saying, but his expression didn't change.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "What does Sam suggest?"

Another pause.

"What did they look like?" Edward asked him. His tone was less controlled, more annoyed sounding. I worried about what it was that could make him drop his carefully constructed mask of polite neutrality.

After about a minute, Edward rolled his eyes, "That could be almost anyone."

Jacob said something, to which Edward replied, "I know, but it would be helpful if-"

He stopped, Jake must have interrupted him. This time Edward frowned, "I think you should wait and see if they continue. It's possible that they'll get discouraged and leave."

Even I, with my puny human hearing, could hear Jacob's response: "_Wait?_" We don't have time to wait! These guys might figure it out sooner than we think! And if they find out about _us,_ they could just as easily find out about _you._" Jake was losing his patience, I could tell. He sounded very frustrated.

"There's no need to shout, I can hear you perfectly well." Edward answered. He was still composed, but Jake was losing his temper.

"We don't have _time_ to sit around and wait! We need to get them to stop looking. Sam wanted the vampires to know what was going down, and maybe you should know, but if you aren't going to help us figure out _who _these guys are then-"

"Calm down, I didn't say anything about not helping. In fact, I think I might have a good idea about who they work for." Edward glanced at me and mouthed to word 'Itex' before continuing, "I'll tell Carlisle about it, Jacob. Call one of us if anything new happens, please."

Jacob said he would and hung up without a goodbye.

Edward ran a hand through his messy bronze hair and stood up. "Jacob says that two men where asking about werewolves around the reservation. Sam wanted us to know that we should be careful, and that if we hear anything about this we should tell him. I suspect that they work for Itex." He explained the phone call to me as we both started to walk downstairs.

"Carlisle, may I have a word with you?" Edward said as he stopped in front of Carlisle's study.

There was no verbal response, at least not that I could hear, but Edward opened the door. I decided that I should tell the flock about this and then go and see Jake or at least call him. I turned around and walked down the stairs and literally right into Max.

* * *

**Max**

I grunted as someone ran into me. I should've been paying more attention to where I was going.

"Sorry." Bella apologized automatically. "Oh, Max!" She said when she realized who she had run into.

"The one and only." Well not technically since I have a clone, but whatever. Same difference.

"I need to talk to you." Bella said.

"Actually, I was just going to see Edward and Carlisle. Angel said that that some guy called and he-"

"-met two men who work for Itex- that's what I wanted to see you about." Bella finished my sentence. "That and something else."

"Um, alright. Let's go back to the living room; the others'll want to know about this first." She nodded and we both went down to the living room.

I looked around, and to my surprise the rest of the Flock was already sitting down. Angel must have tipped them off. I saw her nod out of the corner of my eye and I mentally thanked her.

After some explaining and a whole lot of questions, I turned to Bella and asked what she wanted to talk to me about before.

Edward, who had come down sometime during my explanation, glanced at her and said, "Maybe I should answer that one. Jacob, who is the Quileute werewolf that called Bella about this, wants you to visit with the werewolves so you can explain more about Itex.

"Why don't they just come here?" Nudge asked him.

"Because…" Edward paused.

Emmett, who had also arrived at some point during the explaining, jumped in. "Because they hate our guts. And that feeling is mutual." He said bluntly.

"Oh," was all Nudge could say about that. But really,is there a correct response for that kind of thing?

"Let's go then." I stood up, as did the rest of the flock.

"I'll go with you." Bella said immediately. I saw Edward open his mouth, but Bella gave him a look that said don't-argue-with-me-you-know-I'm-right. He shut his mouth and rolled his eyes, which I assumed was his way of agreeing without admitting it.

"Fly or drive?" Iggy asked on the way out of the house.

"Well, seeing as how I don't have wings…" Bella pointed out.

I grinned, "Hop on, you can ride piggy-back style."

Bella looked at me skeptically, "Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious. Don't be such a baby, just get on. It'll be faster than driving." Plus, we're not polluting the environment! Bonus!

I snapped out my wings and Bella carefully climbed unto my back. "Ready?" I asked once she was on.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She said nervously.

"U and A guys!" I told the rest of the flock.

We took running starts and soon we were soaring above the trees in a loose V formation.

I heard Bella gasp as we gained some more altitude.

And just FYI, having someone ride on your back while your flying is in fact as uncomfortable as it sounds.

* * *

**Iggy**

"I hate to ask obvious questions, but does anyone know where we're going?" I yelled over the rush of wind.

I heard Bella say that she did and she must have given Max directions because suddenly I heard her start to turn. I adjusted my flight accordingly and we flew in silence the rest of the way. Ha ha. Not. Nudge wouldn't shut up and Total, who had ended up in my carrier- _again_, kept going on and on about Akila, who we had left at the Cullen's. And Gazzy and I discussed the latest ideas for the new hoverbomb. But other than that it was totally silent.

After flying for a while Bella told Max that La Push was just ahead.

"Ok, we'll land in the forest and walk the rest of the way."

I grinned and whispered to Gazzy, "Watch this."

I tucked in my wings and let myself drop. I felt the air whip past me as I fell towards the trees below me.

Five hundred feet. Four hundred. I was careful to count out the seconds so I could time it just right. One hundred feet left.

"Iggy!" I heard someone yelling, probably Max.

That's my cue. I snapped out my wings and pulled out of the dive in one smooth motion. Nice. Even better than the last time.

I felt someone coming down to my level. I turned my ear towards them and listened. Fang. I could tell by the sound of his wings, it was just a little different than the others.

"Nice." He whispered appreciatively before the other's caught up to us. We were still descending, but now I was going at a more normal speed.

"Iggy, don't _do_ that!" Max yelled at me angrily. "What if you had timed it wrong?"

"Max, chill out. I knew what I was doing." I said calmly.

"What if-"

"Shh!" Angel warned us. We all froze and looked at her. Well, they looked at her and I just listened.

"Someone's in the forest." She said quietly.

Max tensed, "Have they seen us?"

Angel said no, but that we should land now just in case.

"Straight down, Ig." Gazzy directed me.

I nodded and followed him and the others into a very small clearing in the forest.

Bella got off of Max's back and the rest of us folded our wings in tightly.

Angel, can you find out who it is?" Max whispered to Angel.

Angel didn't say anything for a while. "I don't know who he is, but he's from La Push, he's got black hair, he's going to meet someone, and he's hungry." Angel managed to get some information out of the guy's mind, but not a name.

Max sighed, "That's okay honey." I heard Max moving, turning to face us probably. "Okay, there's only one person apparently, but since we don't know who it is, I want the rest of you to hid and let me handle this. Just to be safe."

We all argued against her decision quietly, but she was insistent. She did give in and let Fang stay with her, but not anyone else. Of course she let Fang stay, since they were in _love_.

Angel giggled at my thought as everyone but Fang and Max melted away into the trees to wait. We walked several hundred feet away- enough to stay out of sight, but just close enough to help if they needed it.

* * *

**Fang**

I stood beside Max and waited for something to happen. "I'll be right beside you." I whispered to her.

She nodded slightly and I closed my eyes in concentration. When I opened them again a few seconds later, Max was staring at where I had been. She smiled and I knew I was invisible. I was getting better at this invisibility thing. I raised a hand experimentally and brushed Max's right check lightly. She jumped back and hissed in shock.

"Fang! Warn me before you do that!"

I allowed myself a triumphant grin. I was getting much better. Now I could move while invisible.

"Who're you talking to?"

I quickly retreated about five feet so my back was against a tree. I turned toward the speaker, as did Max. I quickly sized him up. Tall, muscular, looked about eighteen, shirtless, Native American… bottom line, I could take him.

"I wasn't talking to anyone." Max denied.

The stranger shook his head. "Yeah you were, I heard you. You said 'Warn me before you do that!'"

"Obviously I didn't, because there's nobody else here to talk to." Max shot back. She looked around the small clearing to emphasis how alone they were. Her eyes passed right over me as if I wasn't even there.

"Sure, sure." He said it like he didn't believe her, but he didn't pursue it anymore.

"What are you doing, out here all alone?" Max asked him.

"I could ask you the same question." He said straightforwardly. "You're not from around here." It wasn't a question.

Max's eyes narrowed, "I can take care of myself."

"Never said you couldn't. But you do seem a little young to be just wandering around."

I rolled my eyes. He didn't know Max.

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Yeah, okay. Well I'm kind of busy so if you don't mind…" The stranger took a step towards Max as if to go around her.

I also took a step forward, ready to defend Max if he did anything stupid.

Max stepped to the side to block his way. "Wait."

A wolf howled somewhere nearby, and the stranger looked up. Wolves? At this time of the day? He growled impatiently. "I don't have time for this." He muttered.

He jumped forward, straight at Max. I hesitated, my mind screaming at me to act. To defend Max. I resisted, knowing that I should stay hidden and that Max could take care of herself.

He stopped in front of Max and looked down at her. "Look kid, I don't know who you are or why you're out here, but I don't have time for this."

"Don't call me kid." I noticed the edge to her voice, but the other guy didn't.

"Yeah, okay. If you say so." He answered. "Kid." He added very quietly. Probably hoping Max wouldn't hear him, but she did. And that was all it took.

Her fist was halfway to his face before I reacted. I leaped forward, which caused me to become visible again.

I winced as Max's right fist connected with the guy's nose.

He took a step back, holding his now bleeding nose. "Fuck!" He swore.

Or at least, I think that's what he said. I couldn't really hear him over Max's colorful exclamations. Her hand was broken. Again.

I was leaning over Max's hand now, trying to see how bad the damage was. I wasn't a doctor, but we had all had enough broken bones to know basic first aid. Mystery man didn't say anything about me being there, but he was glaring at me in a surprised where-did-you-come-from way.

I watched in fascination as he pushed his broken nose back with a _crack_ that sounded painful. He wiped the blood on the back of his hand. Somehow, his nose wasn't bleeding anymore.

I heard someone approaching from the other direction now. Actually, more than one someone. The flock was coming to our rescue, having heard the swearing.

Bella ran into the clearing first. "Jake?" she gasped when she saw the stranger, who was glaring daggers at Max and I without saying anything.

He turned and grimaced, "Bella. Why am I not surprised."

"What?"

"Shoulda known you'd be here. Danger follows you around like some kind of sick puppy."

Bella rolled her eyes and turned to Max. "Did you _punch_ him?" She asked.

"Yeah, re-broke my hand on his stupid face." She was cradling her right hand, which was clearly broken.

"Did Bella teach you how to punch?" Jake muttered. His nose looked fine now. Almost like it was never broken.

Bella sighed and held up her hand to stop a fight from breaking out. Or, more specifically, to keep me from getting revenge for this guy breaking Max's hand.

"Stop!" Bella shouted. She looked around at all of us.

We waited.

After making sure that none of us was going to do anything more, she continued. "Jake, meet the Flock. Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, Fang, and Max." She pointed to all of us as she introduced us. "Flock, meet Jacob Black."

_This _was _Jacob Black? _Oh hell.

* * *

Did you like it? I wasn't sure how to do the flock meeting with Jacob, so I decided to go with Max punching him in the face. Maybe I'll make it a recurring theme, lol It fits well I think... maybe. sort of. I don't know. My brain is pretty much dead right now. I can't think. I took a 3 hour test today and then I had another test after that. high school sucks :(

so if you don't like it, blame the test not me.

please review! ONE MORE UNTIL 200!! that's awesome! I love you guys (and girls)! but not in a creepy way.


	17. Werewolves and Wings

Sorry it took so long! I wrote up a new outline so I had something to follow and then I wrote this chapter and now I'm already not following the outline anyway. I'm really not any good at the whole "planning" thing.

Yet another disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or Twilight and I'm not James Patterson or Stephenie Meyer.

* * *

**Jacob**

The blonde, who I'm guessing is Max, looked over at the kid beside her who was glaring at me like he was thinking about punching me too.

After a few seconds, the guy beside Max finally spoke, "Are we going to talk or stand here all day?"

Direct and to the point. I might actually like this kid.

"Hang on a second, I'll tell the rest of the pack to meet us here." I gave Bella a wait-here-I'll-be-right-back look and walked into the trees to phase. It was so much easier than say, using a cell phone.

Sam, Embry and Seth were still in wolf form. I gave them a brief recap and told them where we were.

I phased back, put my pants on, and walked back to the clearing.

"So, you're a werewolf?" The tall blonde boy asked me.

I nodded.

"He's nodding, Iggy." The shorter boy next to him whispered, Gazzy I think his name is.

"He's blind?" I asked in surprised before I could stop myself.

"Yeah, he is." Iggy answered me. "I also make good omelets, but that's beside the point. Oh, and I can fly."

"_What_?" So much for being composed.

"Yeah, you should try it some time." He answered smoothly. "Of course, you need a pair of these…"

He took off his jacket and rolled his shoulders a little.

Holy shit. He has wings.

* * *

**Max**

The look on his face was priceless.

I actually heard a few quiet giggles from Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel.

Fang was as silent and unemotional as always, save for his eyes, which were smiling. I held my laughter back because I was the leader and I didn't want Jacob to see me as anything less than in control. And Iggy, of course, was completely cool and even managed to look bored about the whole thing, but I knew him too well; inside, he was grinning like an idiot. Bella didn't even blink at the wings, but the giant dogs that ran up seemed freaked out about the whole thing. Yeah, giant dogs.

Of course, the flock and I were equally shocked.

Angel heard them coming before anyone else, because of her mind reading.

"Someone's coming." She warned us. Her eyes widened and she frowned, "More than one someone. Except… their minds are connected. It's weird."

"What do you mean by connected?" I asked her quietly.

"That would be my friends." Jacob helpfully butted in.

About two seconds after that, three huge wolf-like dog things walked into the clearing and stopped dead in their tracks.

I was the first to react. My body tensed and automatically I was on alert and ready for a fight.

"Shit." I breathed in awe. First vampires, and now this, what else lives in this place? Isn't there some sort of natural limit on the number of impossible events in one area?

"What? What?" Iggy demanded loudly over Gazzy's reaction, which was about the same as mine.

"Giant wolves." Fang told him.

"Werewolves." Angel corrected in sort of a hushed whisper.

"Ah. That would do it." Iggy muttered. "Gazzy, shut up, man. I want to hear what's going on!"

"Sorry." Gazzy gasped, "But man, that is so cool! Look at 'em! Their huge!"

"I'm looking, I'm looking." Iggy assured him sarcastically.

"Flock, meet the pack. Pack, meet the flock." Jacob said by way of introduction.

The wolves were staring at Iggy. Or more specifically, Iggy's wings, which were still out and not folded in all the way.

The biggest wolf turned and looked at Jacob.

"Yeah, I know. He's got wings. That's why I though you should be here, Sam. Now would you please phase back so we can talk?"

The one he called Sam dipped his head in what I think was a nod, and the three wolves turned and walked back into the trees. Odd. Almost like they were…

Holy fucking mother of all this is holy.

Three boys about Jacob's age, maybe a little older, walked into the clearing. They were sporting the same look as Jacob- no shirt, no shoes, just pants. Must be a trend.

"Sam, Embry, and Seth." Jacob pointed to each of them as he said their names.

I decided to take the initiative and introduce my family.

"Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, and Max." I pointed to each of us in turn.

Iggy stretched out his wings and 'looked' at the three freakishly tall, tanned, muscular, and half naked guys in front of us. "So, werewolves, huh? That's cool." He said in a calm voice, as if he was commenting on the rain that was now falling.

Embry chuckled. Sam on the other hand, did not. "Explain," he told us.

And so we did. All of it.

And then they explained their story, including meeting the two strangers that were asking about werewolves.

* * *

**Kevin Rodriguez**

We were lost, totally lost. Thompson would deny this of course, but it was true.

I took out my cell phone again, which still wasn't getting any service but I felt obligated to try.

"You wouldn't happen to have a compass?" I asked Thompson. He was walking ahead of me through the trees muttering something about crazy locals.

"No." He snapped.

So we trudged on through the forest, following the unclear directions of some guy from La Push who insisted that werewolves lived in this forest. Sometimes working for Itex just wasn't worth it. Actually, now that I think about it working for Itex wasn't worth it a lot of the time.

"Hey, Rodriguez!" I came back to reality and realized that Thompson had stopped walking.

"What?" I whispered back. For some reason we were whispering now.

"Never mind, obviously not."

"What?"

"I asked you if you'd heard that sound."

I couldn't think of anything to say to that, and even if I had a response I didn't have time to say it before a voice from up ahead said, "They heard us."

Thompson and I stared ahead through the trees and I noticed that there was a kind of clearing further on.

Thompson and I looked at each other and both of us silently decided to find out who was talking about us.

We walked forward slowly, and now Thompson let me go first.

I stepped into the clearing, half expecting to be face to face with a werewolf. But instead, there was nothing. The clearing was empty.

"That's them all right." A male voice from my right said loudly. I turned towards it but there was no one there.

"Come out come out wherever you are…" Thompson whispered nervously.

"No thanks, I think I'll stay here." This was a different voice, a girl's and coming from directly behind me.

Thompson and I both whirled around, but again there was no one to be seen.

Thompson was losing it, "Enough games, show us your faces you cowards!"

"Look up," someone suggested.

I looked up.

"F28246eff," I breathed. I had heard of this failed experiment, as well as the other five in the batch, they were well known among even the new Itex interns. Humans with wings, one of the earlier experiments. "The Directors greatest mistake" was what some called them, but I secretly thought they were not a failure, but a success; an unpredictable and uncontrollable one, but still extremely successful in their own right. They had evaded extermination for years, which was impressive. What's more, they were apparently fully functioning humans.

"Why wouldn't we be?" a young girl was standing in front of me now. She also had wings but hers were pure white. The mind reader.

I fumbled around for something to say, "Well, er, ah… you're Experiments. Most of them aren't, um…"

"Able to think for themselves?" This was yet another of the avain-human hybrids. If my memory was correct, it was the oldest of the group. The leader, and the one the Director most hated and some say even feared.

"Well, yes." I admitted.

"Shut up, Rodriguez." Thompson snarled. "Stop talking to it."

She turned and glared at him "It? Is that all I am to you, an _it_?"

"Wha- what else would you be?" Thompson didn't meet her eyes.

"Max. I'm Max. Not 'it,' or a number, or some failed Itex torture device- Max."

Thompson gave me a signal behind his back. The call for help signal that he had insisted on coming up with. "Sorry, _Max_."

I stuck my hand into my pocket as casually as possible and pressed the number one key on my phone twice, a speed dial code. Reinforcements were on the way. Hopefully they got here soon because the mind reading one seemed to know what I was up to.

* * *

… I've got nothing to say here. Just remember to review please.


	18. Crossing the Line

Sorry sorry sorry for the wait! I could list my excuses, but that would just keep you from the story even longer, so just read. There is swearing in this chapter, so you have been warned. Merry Christmas :)

* * *

**Rodriguez**

"He called for backup!" Angel accused.

I decided to play dumb, "What? No I haven't."

To completely contradict this statement, my phone rang.

Max's eyes narrowed and she stepped closer. I suddenly notice that the group of avain-human hybrids had surrounded Thompson and I. "Who is it?" Max asked.

I checked the caller ID. My eyes widened in shock, "The Director."

Everyone started at the phone in my hand as if it were about to explode.

Max paused and thought it over. "Answer it," she commanded.

I looked at her in fear, but we were outnumbered so I didn't have much of a choice.

I flipped my phone open, "Ma'am?" I greeted hesitantly.

"Rodriguez, where the hell are you and why haven't you called to update me?"

"Erm, well ah…" I looked at Max.

"Tell her you fell down and got hurt, you're at the hospital."

I repeated this story, adding that my leg was fractured in two places.

The Director sighed quietly, "Idiot!" she hissed, "You interns are all the same. Let me speak to Thompson."

"Yes ma'am, he's right here." I said.

I handed the phone to Thompson, who took it eagerly, "We're trapped in the forest! The avian-!" And that was as far as he got because the male teenager behind him hit him over the head with a branch.

He calmly picked up the phone, and gave it to the youngest boy. "Tell her that the last part was a mistake." Fang suggested to him. What did he mean by that?

The younger one, Gazzy, nodded and put the phone to his ear. In a perfect imitation of Thompson's voice, he said, "Sorry, ma'am. I-I was mistaken, it was only a large hawk flying over, ma'am." He grinned as he listened to her response. "Of course, I understand. Yes, ma'am. Won't happen again, I promise you." Another pause and he shut the phone and handed it over to the leader.

I was astonished at his perfect mimicry ability, I'd had no idea it was so accurate.

Max pocketed the phone, "That should keep her guessing for a while."

The boy, Fang, shrugged, "They already know we're here," He nodded to me, "he called for backup."

Max made me give her my cell phone, which I gave over reluctantly. For a wild second I thought about running, or screaming, but one look at their faces was enough to persuade me not to. They clearly had the upper hand. For now, at least.

* * *

**Max**

They were out numbered, and one of them was unconscious. One guy against all of us, no problem right? Wrong.

He had backup- _lots_ of backup. Oh, we all fought like crazy of course, but it didn't matter in the end, there were just too many flyboys to win.

Sometime during all of the fighting Bella fell down trying to get away from one of them and hit her knee on a rock, which I didn't even notice until Pretty Boy showed up and started complaining about it.

* * *

**Edward**

Alice, Jasper, Emmett and I were waiting at the treaty line for the flock and Bella to leave La Push. Not surprisingly, Alice was frantic because she couldn't 'see' anything that was happening.

Maybe it was her focused concentration on trying to see something, or maybe it was just being so used to watching for Bella getting injuredthat caused it, I'm not sure. Regardless of how it happened, Alice saw Bella being attacked by a flying robot despite the werewolves being so close to her.

I didn't stop to think, because there was nothing to think about. Bella was in danger. She was my life, my soul, my _everything. _I had no choice but to act. Alice and Jasper didn't move to stop me, but Emmett did. He was standing in my path and he wasn't moving. He wasn't, but I was.

"Get out of the way, Emmett." I muttered dangerously.

"No." His arm caught me as I ran around him and spun me around.

"Edward, think about what you're doing."

"I don't need to think. I need to _act_." I broke free of his grasp and ran. He may be stronger, but I was faster.

And so I ran. Across the treaty line, into the wolves domain.

I'd always figured that if I crossed this line I would never make it more than a hundred yards before being attacked by a pack of wolves, but on this occasion there were no wolves to stop me.

And so I ran.

And for a few seconds there was only myself and my thoughts. Normally, the rare silence would be savored, but not now. Because there was nothing I wanted more than to hear the thoughts of someone- anyone- to let me know what was happening.

And suddenly I could.

_Damn it Thompson, wake up…_

_Be careful!_

_I'm running out of bombs._

_They're winning!_

_Bella's bleeding… what happened to her?_

My instincts screamed at me to run faster, and somehow, I did.

The scent of blood was easy to track, but Bella's blood made it even easier.

And so the lion found the lamb.

I burst into a tiny clearing, skidding to a stop. I heard growls and snarls from all the wolves, but I ignored them for now. Bella was the only thing that mattered. She was kneeling beside Angel, trying to stop the flow of blood from her knee. I was at her side in an instant.

She took my appearance badly. "_Edward_?! What are you doing? You can't- what are- _leave_!" She wasn't making sense, but I knew what she meant. I smiled at her worry, but didn't say anything because I had stopped breathing to minimize the damage her blood was doing to my senses.

Angel, who was controlling several robots and using them to attack the rest, looked down at me for a second. Concentrate, Angel.

_I am, _she thought back. I bandaged Bella's knee, which was a fairly deep cut from a rock, with a strip of cloth torn from my jacket. Bella was still protesting my presence, and I was still not breathing. The stench of blood was heavy in the air.

"Behind you!" Bella gasped. I spun around, catching one of the robots in the arm with my hand as it tried to land on me. I snapped its arm off easily and kicked the rest of it away from Bella. I subconsciously realized that I could not read their minds, while the rest of my brain thought of ways to protect Bella.

I heard Max grunt in pain to my left and I turned just in time to see that one of the flyboys had kicked her. She staggered back and I jumped in between them.

"Not on my watch," I growled as I punched the robot in the face. It flew backwards into a tree and didn't move again. Max gasped out a thank you and went on fighting. I did the same. I stayed close to Bella, who was not good at fighting, but there were too many of them and not enough of us.

Slowly but surely we were losing ground.

And then we were surrounded. We had been backed up to the edge of the clearing, and now there were robots on all sides, including above us.

The werewolves were not among us, however. I hadn't noticed their departure, but they were gone. I listened for their thoughts, and I heard only one of them in my mind. Jacob, of course. His anger was almost a tangible presense radiating from his thoughts. That anger was directed at me, but it would have to wait until later.

The only one of our little group not injured was myself, although had I been human I would be bleeding as well. As it was, it was all I could do to control the monster in myself that was screaming to be let out. My instincts told me to fight and keep fighting until there was nothing left to kill. But I could not.

_Don't. Whatever happens, Itex can not find out about vampires, _Angel told me in her mind. She was right of course, Itex would covet vampire DNA above all else. I would be used to make immortal weapons that required only blood to live, an army of newborns. That must be prevented.

They began to tie us up. I allowed my hands to be bound by ropes that I could snap with the twitch of a finger. I allowed myself to be lead away with the others into the forest. Even the two men, Rodriguez and Thompson, were bound and led along with us. These flyboys were apparently not taking any chances. We were herded into a semi trailer that was waiting on a dirt road not far away. They were expecting us. We were shoved roughly into it, but none of the flyboys stayed in the back with us.

Everyone waited until the truck began to move before talking.

"The trailer's bugged." Iggy said over the talking, "They always are." He found a flashlight in his backpack and switched it on. It lit up the trailer with pale yellow light.

I looked around and found a small microphone hidden in one of the corners.

Trying to act as human as possible, I got my bonds untied. "My rope was loose," I lied. I reached up and pulled the microphone off the wall. I smashed it under my foot, careful to use a realistic amount of force.

"Alright, now we can talk." I muttered. The smell of blood was especially strong in such an enclosed space. I feared for Bella, who hated blood.

I untied everyone else except the two Itex men.

"What happened?" I asked.

"_They_ found us when we were talking." Max explained, she nodded toward the Itex employees.

"Everyone okay?" I asked.

Everyone looked around at everyone else, checking for injuries. I noticed several, but I didn't think there were any serious injuries.

"I broke my hand again." Max held up her right hand.

I allowed myself a tightlipped smile, "Doing what?"

"I didn't know how to introduce to myself to Jake so I just punched him in the face." She said sarcastically.

I chuckled, but while doing so I also breathed in slightly. The smell of blood was so strong I almost gagged. I pinched the bridge of my nose and leaned my head back against the cold steel. I closed my eyes, knowing that they must be unnaturally black.

A tense silence followed as everyone watched me. Even the two strangers, who knew nothing of my predicament knew that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong with him?" The one named Kevin asked quietly.

"Probably doesn't like blood, like her." The other one responded. He was referring to Bella, who looked very sick and was nearly as pale as me.

"It's the smell. It makes her sick; me too." Not entirely a lie, but certainly not the truth.

I opened my eyes and looked at the doors of the trailer. I could easily rip them off and jump out, but that was not an option. That would give away my abilities and leave my friends without someone to protect them. Not that they needed much protecting, but I could not leave them with these monsters.

My cell phone rang. No doubt it was Alice trying to get information.

"Alice?" Bella whispered. I nodded as I got my phone out.

I spoke in a whisper, "We're fine, Alice."

Alice did not follow my example of speaking quietly, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" She shrieked. Bella, who was leaning against me, winced.

"Alice, calm down." I soothed.

"I will not calm down, Edward! _First_, you cross the treaty line, _then _you let yourself get captured! What were you thinking?"

"You know why I crossed the line, Alice. And I got captured because I couldn't abandon the flock with these… people."

"Esme is beside herself, and honestly, Rosalie might just kill you when she sees you next for this." She threatened

I smiled, "Tell Esme not to worry and tell Rosalie that Carlisle beat her to it."

"This is not a joking matter, Edward. The Volturi-"

"_will not_ be involved." I cut in.

"They'll have to be if _you_-"

"No." I hissed, too low for anyone around me to hear. "Whatever happens, the Volturi must not know. Think about what Aro would do with the flock, Alice."

"I know. Believe me I know, Edward." She shuddered.

We said goodbye and I put my phone away. After this, we were mostly silent. I checked everyone for injuries, bandaging the ones that were bleeding tightly. The man from Itex named Thompson had a cut on his leg, which I bandaged also. Max didn't like it, calling it "helping the enemy" but I told her the exposed blood made me feel worse.

We were all quiet after I finished being the doctor for several minutes.

"Now what?" Bella asked nervously.

"Now we wait." Iggy answered with a yawn.

I groaned as a new someone's thoughts were added to the ones already in my mind. _Fucking leech! Coming onto _our_ land? Next time I see him I'll teach him to break his damn treaty! Then the others might leave, too. _Jacob Black. Along with the rest of his pack. They'd found us, and had decided to follow.

I let the pack's unique joined thoughts fill my head.

_Just because Bella was here, doesn't give the leech the right to- Watch it Seth, stay in the trees! Sorry! I can't believe he let himself get taken! Why would he bother? Probably want's to get away from us as long as possible. Coward. He's probably listening to us right now, guys. Like I give a damn? Hey Edward, guess what? I'm coming for you, treaty breaker. Promises obviously don't mean much to bloodsuckers. _

Angel was also listening, "Edward, why do they so angry at you?" She whispered.

"Who?" Max, Bella, Nudge and Iggy asked at the same time.

"Jake and his friends." I said by way of explanation. "They're angry because I broke a promise that I'd made to them."

"Not to go on their land," Angel added. "Why'd you promise that?"

"Because they don't… trust my family and I." I glanced at the two Itex employees meaningfully. They were both listening, but seemed totally lost by our conversation.

All of a sudden the truck stopped. I laughed to myself as the pack's mutual thought reached me: _I'd rather save the leech than let these creeps have him. If he's going to die,_ we're _going to be the ones to do it._

* * *

Slight cliffhanger, sorry. I'll try to update faster this time, but I'm a procrastinator so... sorry in advance, lol


	19. Truck Chase

I know it's been 6 billion years since the last update. SORRY! Life is getting in the way. My excuses: term paper, sickness, computer problems, homework, writers block, funeral, procrastination, the list goes on. But anyways, sorry for the cliffie ending from last time and the long wait- don't hate me too much.

*hides from the one angry reader who bothered to click on this story*

* * *

**Jacob**

The other wolves and I slipped away during the fighting when it became obvious that we couldn't win. And by "slipped away," I mean that Sam, as Alpha, ordered us to get the hell out of there. I wanted to stay and fight those damn robots, no matter the odds, but Sam insisted that we leave because La Push couldn't afford to lose four wolves. True, but I didn't care about what La Push needed right then. Really, all I wanted to do is catch that traitorous leech and rip him to shreds. For once, the others were in agreement with me. Seth immediately ran back to La Push and let Quil (who was due to run patrol soon) know what was happening, and then we all headed after the flock.

They were easy to track- just follow the vampire stench. After we caught up with the truck they were in, we ran through the forest alongside it- debating the next move. Embry and I both wanted to attack outright, but Sam and Seth were more cautious.

"_This isn't the time for fucking caution! He crossed the line!" _I snarled in my mind.

"_We know." _Sam answered irritably. "_Seth, stay in the trees!"_ he added as Seth bounded a little too close to the road, again.

"_Sorry. What I don't get is why he'd bother getting caught with them, he could've ran off." _

"_Probably wants to get away from us as long as possible. Coward." _Embry said.

"_He's probably listening to us right now, guys." _Seth added.

I didn't care, let him listen. Didn't change anything. _"He crossed the line! The treaty says-"_

"_I know what the treaty says as well as you do, Jake," _Sam cut in, _"I agree with that part, he should be punished."_

"_Not punished- killed." _Embry's mind growled.

"_Okay, okay. But how're we going to stop this truck?" _

"_Allow me," _I said. Without waiting for a reply, I jumped out of the trees and into the roadway, well ahead of the semi. The driver saw me and swerved, almost jackknifing in the process. It worked- the truck stopped.

Sam told me off as I loped around to the back doors of the trailer.

I ignored him.

"_Well, I'd rather save the leech than let these creeps have him. If he's going to die,_we're_going to be the ones to do it." _Embry thought. The others, myself included, agreed wholeheartedly.

"_Alright, who wants to phase and get the handle?"_ I asked.

Just as I thought it, the door swung open. "Allow me," Edward answered quietly.

Without a second thought, I lunged for his throat. If I'd paused long enough, I might have noticed his pitch black eyes and clenched teeth- never a good combination on a vampire. But I didn't notice and I didn't care.

Edward, fucking mind reader that he is, saw my plan as soon as I did and was ready.

He jumped down from the back of the truck and ran. Thinking he was running away from me, I started after him.

He ran about 200 yards into the trees and stopped, taking a deep breath.

"Wait." Edward's voice stopped me in my tracks, all thoughts of revenge temporarily gone.

His voice was deadly calm and emotionless, but at the same time there was a hint of desperation.

"I know you want me dead, and I'm not going to say I don't deserve it."  
Huh, that's new.

He was still facing away from me, but I could feel his tenseness. "No. I know I crossed the line, literally." I paused, willing to give him a chance for a few last words. "I don't begrudge you you're revenge, but I do ask that you put it off until later."

Fat chance. Now you're just stalling.

"In a way." Edward admitted, answering my thoughts. "I'm also getting myself under control."

I rolled my eyes, even though he wasn't looking. Definitely stalling.

He turned towards me, his eyes still a little too dark for comfort. His voice was a harsh whisper, "Am I?"

Hmm…

Yeah.

My powerful back legs gave me enough speed to reach him before he could slip away.

I felt my claws rake his shoulder, and then I was flying backwards. Damn, he hits hard.

I landed on my side, but was back on my feet instantly. The other wolves ran to my aid, circling around and surrounding Edward.

Edward was crouched, but he didn't attack any of us. "We don't have time for this," he growled. He managed to take a running leap over me, heading back to the others.

Damn it, Edward.

The pack and I followed determinedly. I was the fastest of the pack, so I was right behind Edward as he passed the tree line and back into the open.

"No!"

The shout made me stumble.

The voice was agonizing to hear, and it took me several seconds to realize that it was coming from Edward.

And that's when I reached the open and saw that the Itex truck was gone, along with everyone that had been in it.

--

His distress was almost a physical presence as we ran. It was like another person, silently following us. Feeding on our pain. No one spoke- no words were needed.

Wordlessly, the pack had started off after Edward as soon as we realized what had happened. Somehow, the flock and Bella were back in the hands of Itex. Somehow, they hadn't escaped from the truck.

And it was my fault.

We had reached a mutual agreement to follow Edward, who was (unfortunately) much better at finding and following Bella's scent than we were.

And so we ran.

* * *

Ugh. I know. It's horrible and short and basically achieves nothing. Sort of like me, haha. But anyway- my motivation is sadly lacking and I can't seem to think at all. I don't know what it is, I just haven't been able to focus on anything lately. Not that you really care. Shutting up now.

I will keep writing, even if the updates are few and far between (I'm honestly trying).


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